Diploma project
Autumn 2022
Institute of Architecture
In 1962, two new buildings were built in Drammen a modern hotel and a new courthouse. Today, both buildings have reached the end of their current use leading to one being replaced and one being abandoned.
By investigating and documenting these two buildings, From One To Another attempt to test the ways in which buildings created for entirely different uses can be transformed and adapted when newtypologies are introduced. The project aims to look at what is already there and identify existing values rather than removing them. Can we revive outdated buildings without removing their origins?
In Drammen, as well as the rest of Norway, there are many examples of buildings that are being torn down to be replaced by new ones. This applies, in particular, to public buildings such as schools, libraries, nursing homes, sports halls, and courthouses. Many of these are from between 1960 and 1970, existing for only fifty to sixty years. They have become worn and outdated, are in poor technical condition due to lack of maintenance, have become too small, or ‘perhaps, the main reason: The value of the newness - We want something new! Sintef and Riksantikvaren’s report from 2020, «Grønn er ikke bare en farge», summarizes that the most climate-friendly square meter is the one that is already built. The project seeks to build upon this notion through addressing these buildings’ values and attempting to find ways to take better care of the materials and buildings that we already have.
If the buildings no longer fit the program they were meant for, can they fit another program in the future? Is it possible to change people’s opinions about these buildings? Since the hotel already has already been demolished, I wanted to work with a building that might face the same fate as the hotel and attempt to find an alternative future. To complete the circle, I wanted to work with the idea that the courthouse could replace the hotel we have lost.
By documenting both buildings, I have identified structural, spatial and social values that I emphasize and preserve throughout the project. In order to develop a new program, I started by translating rooms and areas from the Park Hotel. Furthermore, I made four models of four rooms that differ in size, program and materiality. These were used to experiment by adding new elements and meanings to the rooms. For example, transforming a basic office into a hotel room. Can a space intended for work be used for relaxation? The project indicates that small changes and interventions can generate different atmospheres, and hopefully, revive the obsolete.
Elisabeth Skavik / elisabeth.skavik@stud.aho.no
By investigating and documenting these two buildings, From One To Another attempt to test the ways in which buildings created for entirely different uses can be transformed and adapted when newtypologies are introduced. The project aims to look at what is already there and identify existing values rather than removing them. Can we revive outdated buildings without removing their origins?
In Drammen, as well as the rest of Norway, there are many examples of buildings that are being torn down to be replaced by new ones. This applies, in particular, to public buildings such as schools, libraries, nursing homes, sports halls, and courthouses. Many of these are from between 1960 and 1970, existing for only fifty to sixty years. They have become worn and outdated, are in poor technical condition due to lack of maintenance, have become too small, or ‘perhaps, the main reason: The value of the newness - We want something new! Sintef and Riksantikvaren’s report from 2020, «Grønn er ikke bare en farge», summarizes that the most climate-friendly square meter is the one that is already built. The project seeks to build upon this notion through addressing these buildings’ values and attempting to find ways to take better care of the materials and buildings that we already have.
If the buildings no longer fit the program they were meant for, can they fit another program in the future? Is it possible to change people’s opinions about these buildings? Since the hotel already has already been demolished, I wanted to work with a building that might face the same fate as the hotel and attempt to find an alternative future. To complete the circle, I wanted to work with the idea that the courthouse could replace the hotel we have lost.
By documenting both buildings, I have identified structural, spatial and social values that I emphasize and preserve throughout the project. In order to develop a new program, I started by translating rooms and areas from the Park Hotel. Furthermore, I made four models of four rooms that differ in size, program and materiality. These were used to experiment by adding new elements and meanings to the rooms. For example, transforming a basic office into a hotel room. Can a space intended for work be used for relaxation? The project indicates that small changes and interventions can generate different atmospheres, and hopefully, revive the obsolete.
Elisabeth Skavik / elisabeth.skavik@stud.aho.no
