Ostmarkneset

The project is located furthest North on Lade peninsula in Trondheim. The area is strongly characterised by structures from World War II, which are classified as Cultural Heritage. Therefore the project is, in its core, a transformation and rehabilitation of an existing warehouse into a seasonal restaurant. The main goal of this intervention was to reactivate Østmarkneset as a growing recreational area in the city.
 

The process
The project was a collaboration between Trondheim Municipality, local investors, NTNU Live Studio and NTNU students in order to reactivate a building that was on the edge of being demolished. As part of a master thesis written by Smedås and Andreassen, it was developed into a student workshop where about 30 architect students refined the design and built the project in the course of two weeks.
 

The project
The building consists of three spaces: the outdoor covered entrance, accessible even when the restaurant is closed, the main room indoors and the service area.

The focus was to preserve the main qualities of the building and, at the same time, give a new use and a new character. For that matter, the main wood structure and the roof where preserved and enhanced as the building became more translucent. Osb was used as the main surface material to represent the new interventions. The sharpness, texture and colour creates a contrast with the existing dark and rough structure. The cladding outdoors is a composition of plexiglass and wooden panels treated with iron sulfate.

The workshop was the beginning of a bigger project, where revitalisation of the whole area is the end goal. Preservation through transformation and introduction of small new elements will facilitate the positive development as an active recreational area.
 

Research Question
How rehabilitation of an existing building can transform and activate a recreational area in decay?