Europan Norway

Jury's statement:

The 1st prize, BE123 in Bergen, confronts the potentialities and problems of Åsane by proposing a multifunctional platform where streets and public spaces are reserved for pedestrians. Parking has been moved underground. This strategy allows the challenges of Åsane to be solved on two different levels. On one hand, the high caraccessibility of the site is maintained and even strengthened. The new urban project take advantage of its location along the motorway, combining visibility and accessibility on regional and local levels.

This strategy is compatible with that of the existing Åsane shopping center visà-vis. At the same time, BE123 avoids the conflict between soft and hard mobilities by clearly separating these. All outdoor spaces on ground level are reserved for pedestrians, cyclists, visitors of cafés, cinemas, etc. The concept for the urban structure is to organize different functions in three strips: shopping and entertainment;offices and service-related business activities; housing and hotels. The program for the strips correspond to existing programs on each side and tend to be extensions of the center on the one side and the residential areas on the other.
The infrastructural strategy of BE123 allows two separate urban systems and two different
scales to live side by side and to profit from each other.

CS056 takes the platform strategy one step further by covering the whole motorway between the site and the existing Åsane center.This approach integrates the existing and new projects into one urban structure. The platform is a strong connecting element on the level of the landscape, linking the forested hillsides with central parts of the Åsane valley. The platform strategy establishes one common ground floor for the existing center area and the site, a gesture that is very flexible in terms of urban development. A new public space is established for both the project and the existing surroundings. The strategy is bold but also demanding. It is an “all or nothing” proposal with little flexibility on the question of crossing the motorway.

Jury's statement:

PM121 focusing its energy on connecting the site to the housing areas to the east. Consequently, the response to the question of how to link local and regional scales is avoided.
Focus is on the small-scale, residential community and local qualities. Turning its back towards the regional passer-bys, retail and office activities are located along the local road on the east side of the site. In this way, commercial activities are denied the possible synergy with the existing center. Although the project does not give Åsane a strong new dynamic, the project is interesting because it clearly states that the residential program is a key to how Åsane can become an attractive place to live. PM121 is not based on connecting to the existing center, but connecting to the existing residential areas. In this way PM121 uses new housing and commercial activities adapted to the local level as a motor for giving new momentum to the urbanization of Åsane.