Diplomprosjekt
Høst 2024
Institutt for arkitektur
Today´s value assessment processes consist primarily of written analyses of a limited selection of buildings: structures that have been labelled, listed or documented as important for our built heritage. What is not valued enough today are the other buildings that have not reached that level or status of cultural importance. This means many buildings are demolished without being evaluated. We believe all buildings facing demolition should be value assessed beforehand, and through our method of valuation, will allow for a more thorough understanding of what might be lost.
This is a strategic study of a language, that proposes an alternate way to read our built environment: conducting a value-based reading of architecture to highlight its values and uncover the formal opportunities through working with its vocabulary.
Our shared built environment consists of different values, such as knowledge-, experience- and usage-based values. If known and understood, they can be used as a tool to read a building or a place. By conducting a value-based reading of architecture we can discover existing aspects that are worthy to retain and can showcase our built environment as an immense resource of knowledge that can teach us about a larger historical context. It can also uncover experiential values, and if encountered they can tell us about significant qualities deserving of safe keeping. If we focus on our built environment through a pair of adaption-goggles, a value-based reading can guide us towards future ideas and opportunities of usage, letting our built environment live and evolve. Therefore, values need to be found and understood. They need to be presented in a visible and knowledge-forming way to point to their importance for a place’s rich narrative.
Today´s value assessment processes consist primarily of written analyses of a limited selection of buildings: structures that have been labelled, listed or documented as important for our built heritage. What is not valued enough today, however, are the other buildings that have not reached that level or status of cultural importance. This means that many buildings are demolished without being evaluated, including buildings that already belong to a context and place. We believe all buildings facing demolition should be value assessed beforehand, and through our method of valuation, will allow for a more thorough understanding of what might be lost.
To approach our interests, we have chosen a site to use as a case-study: Sundet, the city center of Eidsvoll. What we find fantastic about Sundet is its readability. The existing volumes are clear representations of how the small town’s cityscape has grown and expanded during different eras. The structures come in different sizes, shapes and colours, and while coming together as what might be perceived as an odd constellation, form a unified whole. They are carriers of the local character, identity and narrative.
Here, six buildings are slated for demolition to make way for a large development. The purpose of the new project is to promote an active urban life with new housing and business opportunities through densification. However, what is not valued enough are the already existing structures and their importance for the readability of the place. They are together imbedded in the areas architectural language. Just like in our spoken language, a vocabulary is the basis. The vocabulary can be assembled in different ways to produce different expressions. If a vocable is missing, it can be borrowed from somewhere else and tweaked to fit that specific language. A vocabulary is what creates the language of a place.
Tora Augland Stølen / torastol@hotmail.com
Mimmie Svensson / svensson.mimmie@gmail.com
Our shared built environment consists of different values, such as knowledge-, experience- and usage-based values. If known and understood, they can be used as a tool to read a building or a place. By conducting a value-based reading of architecture we can discover existing aspects that are worthy to retain and can showcase our built environment as an immense resource of knowledge that can teach us about a larger historical context. It can also uncover experiential values, and if encountered they can tell us about significant qualities deserving of safe keeping. If we focus on our built environment through a pair of adaption-goggles, a value-based reading can guide us towards future ideas and opportunities of usage, letting our built environment live and evolve. Therefore, values need to be found and understood. They need to be presented in a visible and knowledge-forming way to point to their importance for a place’s rich narrative.
Today´s value assessment processes consist primarily of written analyses of a limited selection of buildings: structures that have been labelled, listed or documented as important for our built heritage. What is not valued enough today, however, are the other buildings that have not reached that level or status of cultural importance. This means that many buildings are demolished without being evaluated, including buildings that already belong to a context and place. We believe all buildings facing demolition should be value assessed beforehand, and through our method of valuation, will allow for a more thorough understanding of what might be lost.
To approach our interests, we have chosen a site to use as a case-study: Sundet, the city center of Eidsvoll. What we find fantastic about Sundet is its readability. The existing volumes are clear representations of how the small town’s cityscape has grown and expanded during different eras. The structures come in different sizes, shapes and colours, and while coming together as what might be perceived as an odd constellation, form a unified whole. They are carriers of the local character, identity and narrative.
Here, six buildings are slated for demolition to make way for a large development. The purpose of the new project is to promote an active urban life with new housing and business opportunities through densification. However, what is not valued enough are the already existing structures and their importance for the readability of the place. They are together imbedded in the areas architectural language. Just like in our spoken language, a vocabulary is the basis. The vocabulary can be assembled in different ways to produce different expressions. If a vocable is missing, it can be borrowed from somewhere else and tweaked to fit that specific language. A vocabulary is what creates the language of a place.
Tora Augland Stølen / torastol@hotmail.com
Mimmie Svensson / svensson.mimmie@gmail.com
