Published: 11 November 2024
Text: Anne-Marie Korseberg Stokke
Photo: Arkiv
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Keywords for Oslo Science Park's work were early formulated as interaction, communication, and creativity. The vision materialized in the buildings, and the spontaneous communication was what the architects themselves believed to be their most important contribution to the park. In Oslo Science Park's newsletter "Treffpunkt" from May 1988, architect Niels Torp described it this way:
"We are planning a building for spontaneous communication. Researchers need an open house. Research activities should be displayed as something that is not mysterious or secret. We try to imagine that it might become quite an ugly building. But whether we can achieve that, I do not know. After all, we are architects!"
Two particular concepts underpin the design of the building. One is the idea of the intersection. All floors and main blocks of Oslo Science Park are connected by a large glass-covered street space, a concept that can also be seen in Niels Torp's buildings for the Norwegian School of Economics in Nydalen and Rikshospitalet at Gaustad. People can stroll around these buildings on large outdoor terraces, stairs, and galleries. It is a public space where people cannot avoid seeing each other.
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– I hope to be able to lead a public walkway from the University to the research centers right through Oslo Science Park. Everyone who takes a stroll here should be able to get an impression of some of the research happening in the building. I believe it is important that the research environments should not be able to hide away. I want a building where people talk to each other. I want to open this building up to those who work here – whether they like it or not, said Torp in 1988.
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Niels Torp + Architects were first engaged by Oslo Science Park in the late 1980s to develop the first phase and have designed several additions to the center, with the latest buildings completed in 2022.
The second main idea of the building is to place activities and services that generate traffic where they can be seen. The contact between tenants is promoted through deliberate interior design.
"It is not enough for people to see each other from the galleries. They also need something to do in the common areas. Therefore, all activities will be placed outside in the 'street' space. Coffee machines, cafeteria, reception. Everything you do when you’re not in the office should take place there. I believe that perhaps the most important thing we as architects have contributed to Oslo Science Park is spontaneous communication", said Torp.
Flexibility and sustainability were central in 1988 and have been a requirement for all subsequent phases of construction.
"What is special is that we do not know what will happen in Oslo Science Park in five years. So we are designing a building that is easy to break down. The interior should always be able to change. Technical equipment should be able to be installed and removed just as quickly. And if special needs arise, there is plenty of space on the roof", according to Torp.
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"Five days a week in the office, please." That was the message the tech-giant Amazon recently sent to its corporate employees. Could it be that the post-pandemic rush of freedom has subsided, and we are slowly but surely realizing that a good work environment cannot be sent via email?
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Over 3,000 people from academia, research and business have their daily workplace in Oslo Science Park, midway between Gaustad and Blindern in Oslo. Our tenants form a unique ecosystem for innovation, value creation and commercialization of research.
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The initiative to replace the grass lawns surrounding Oslo Science Park with flower meadows started in the summer of 2023. This will benefit the area's biological diversity and provide an insect sanctuary. Now, the children at Forskningsparken Montessori kindergarten are working on their own accommodation for small critters.
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