Borderland - Exploring the architectural potential of borders

Borderland Exploring the architectural potential of borders

Elias Thorsdal Mølnvik

Student Elias Thorsdal Mølnvik Supervisor Stuart Mcleod Salway Dickson Architecture NTNU Spring 2022

Unless otherwise stated, the material is produced by me.

Index I

Thesis Abstract Method Observations

Paper Projects Twin Brother Pavilion

Land of Preservation

The Floating Observatory

4 5 9 10

III

The Site Analysis Registration

52 60 66

IV

Project Strategies

Sequence of Spaces The Path

78 84 104 134

V

Epilogue Conclusion Acknowledgements Credits

158 160 164 166

II

28 32 38 44

Abstract A border is a line separating two neighboring entities. It marks the threshold between countries, and through this act of separation, may result in the creation of a nonplace. In the current political climate, where the idea of the collective is being challenged and borders are being refurbished, looking into how we create architecture along our borders is highly relevant.

This diploma will investigate the current manner in which we are designing our borders. By describing and discussing the various historical, cultural and poetic aspects of this concept, this project will form a basis for which a new border station will be proposed. The interventions will respond to the rich Norwegian tradition of an architecture inseparable from the landscape.

Through this process and proposal, Borderland will comment, criticize and engage with the interface between architecture and borders, in the past, present and future.

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6

Activist John Runnings performing a non-violent protest on the Berlin Wall, 1986

Andreas Schoelzel/AP

Research Question 1. What is the architectural potential found in the threshold between two neighbouring countries?

2. How can a building activate and respond to what is currently a non-place?

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8

Women meeting by a temporary border enhanced by a barbed wire fence

Patrice Habans/Paris Match, Getty Images

Method Part I

Research Investigate the concept by looking into the historical, cultural and poetic aspects of the border.

3 Paper Projects Design three paper projects at three different sites. They will investigate different border conditions and thematize aspects and implications of those borders.

Part II

Site Choose a site with a border crossing for the border station. By postponing this process, this diploma seeks to first understand broader and more universal principles related to borders and architecture. A description and analysis of the site will be the main part of this chapter.

Part III

Designing a border station The final building will manifest the findings into an architectural proposal. By proposing a border station at a specific crossing, this project will action the extensive research undertaken, to deliver a project grounded in understanding and comprehension of the topic.

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I

Context

I

I

12

Context

Ruins of Hadrians Wall, the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire

Jason Hawkes

Observations

On the history of borders In early human history, the territory occupied by a tribal group was typically defined by natural features, networks, and/or totem symbols. Members of the tribe, neighboring tribes, and nomadic visitors developed an understanding of their territory and its territorial limits that aided navigation, seasonal migration, collective understanding, avoidance of conflict, and held meaning within their conception of a life-world. This constellation of points and features did not constitute a clear, singular ‘border’ or frontier but rather a dynamic way of understanding their occupied world.

The first known formal delimitation of a state, rather than a city or small territory, was the Great Wall of China, built in the Yellow River area of the recently unified Chinese empire by King Zheng of Qin (first emperor of the Qin dynasty). This original section of the Great Wall of China was erected to protect the imperial dynasty and its lands from invading nomadic tribes from Inner Asia.

The first large-scale construction of territorial borders in the western world was undertaken by the Romans. These denoted the physical limit of the Roman Empire and were composed of a combination of natural topographic and geographic boundaries, such as rivers, mountains and forest edges, and defensive structures including fortified walls and fences.

Europe in the Middle Ages was composed of city states with somewhat ambiguously hinterlands and borders, or early nation states with borders that regularly shifted due to conflict.

Consequently, the territory outside of fortified cities and its

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I

14

Context

Australian 4th Division field artillery brigade crossing a former no mans land

James Francis Hurley

Observations

citizens were looked upon as chattel: a landscape of physical resources and a tradeable workforce owned by feudal lords. There was no such thing as national states or borders in the modern sense. Identities were not bound to territories but to rulers and religion.

The development of surveying techniques and mapping practices allowed rulers to develop an accurate understanding and heightened control of their possessions. The abstracted spatial view of territory brought with it more defined boundaries and frontiers that were strengthened by treaties.

The birth of modern democracy brought with it an idea of sovereignty where the state’s legitimacy is based upon the will or consent of the people. The boundary of the new states became regarded as an enclosure of not only a population with a collective administration but also a distinctive and separate culture. This led to the powerful supposition that ’nation’ is equivalent to ’society.’

The birth of Nationalism proved to be a gathering force for different cultures and classes within the territorial borders. The Spanish-Dutch Treaty of Westphalia from 1648 is said to be an ’inauguration of the modern political order based on sovereign, international recognised boundaries, and territorially demarcated states.’ Individuals were now tied to a nation, and following this treaty, nation-states became the primary way of dividing the earth’s surface. With time, the borders between the modern states became stricter and more precise and were reinforced by internationally recognised conventions and institutions.

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I

Context

”We often treat our borders like they where handed down from god and that they are immutable”

16

Steven Kelly, in conversation with Roman Mars

99% Invisble, Fifty-Four Forty and Fight

Observations

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American border guard deterring illigal immigrants

Getty Images

I

18

Context

Result of a planning system meeting the physical world.

Photo: Shabtai Pinchewsky

Observation

On the mapping of borders Mapping of the physical world has been a valuable tool for humans tracing back to about 3000 B.C. It has evolved from the early pictorial maps, composed of only a small number of physical features, into modern mapping practices that cover virtually every part of the earth’s surface. However, the successive transition from a contextual measuring system into a globalized, standardized way of perceiving the world has fundamentally changed our attitude towards the physical world.

The rise of imperialism led to colonial countries dividing foreign territory through the application of abstract concepts. With no cultural or historical attachment to the actual ground, arbitrary measurement and mapping techniques became the typical instrument for dividing territories. Historical property divisions and territorial agreements were ignored, and these artificial borders have often created a legacy of conflict and inequality.

For example, the artificial boundaries of former colonies in Africa and the Middle East remain controversial and a source of contemporary conflict.

Applying abstract mapping systems within the territory of a nation state, where land is subdivided and reinforced by boundaries, also creates contradictions and internal conflicts. In the USA, the Public Land Survey proposed by Thomas Jefferson still defines the division of land across the west of America.

Implementing this rigid square mile system results in a collision between a theoretical mapping and the physical world.

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I

20

Context

Checkpoint Cap Cerbère on the border between Spain and France

Christian Joseph Schulz

Observation

On crossing a border The formalities of crossing from one domain to another have typically been implemented because of political, legal, and economic reasons, but some were magico-religious.

Historically, a no-mans-land has served as a territorial border. The perimeter of a territory is marked with a natural element or objects such as a stake, portal, or milestones. The installation of the markings would often be conducted with a ceremonial rite of consecration, the construction or acknowledgment of these boundary signs by the collective. Using these practices, the group took possession of a delimited space. If a stranger came across such a milestone, they would understand that they were entering a territory belonging to another tribe.

Through these practices, entering a given territory became intrinsically magico-religious, and territories continued to be substantiated by milestones, walls, and crossing points in the classical world. Moving from one territory to another was, and remains, a rite of passage. It is accompanied by transitions in identity and within an an individual’s understanding.

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I

22

Context

Remaining parts of the ”Death Strip” in Berlin

Observation

On the non-place created by borders It looks simple and unproblematic when a borderline is drawn with a ruler on a map. However, in the interaction with the physical world, the line often becomes problematic. Due to the fact that the landscape seldom has the same qualities as a piece of paper, this practice often creates conflict between jurisdictions.

Sometimes this no-mans-land is deliberately created and articulated. During the Cold War, the Berlin Wall separated east and west and formed by two parallel walls, separated by a distance, resulting in a void known as ‘The Death Strip.’ A void extracted from the normal world – a ‘Non-place.’

The De-militarised Zone (or DMZ) separating North Korea from South Korea is a contemporary example of two nations that are separated by a large physical void.

However, this space manifests an unusual phenomenon where a wild, natural landscape has had the opportunity to regenerate after the destruction of the Korean War due to the enforced absence of human management.

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I

24

Context

The clearing of forest can be seen cutting through the forest

Line Hårklau

Observation

The Norway - Sweden border is manifested in a 5m wide clearing through the natural forest. The void is carefully maintained, creating a void space between the two countries.

These voids and the manifestation of borders through physical structures that negate, or condition, the territory around them, creates a ubiquitous phenomenon of the border as a ‘Non-place.’ It reinforces the border as a perceived boundary that reinforces the idea of collective identity on one side and the ‘othering’ of those who occupy the world beyond.

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I

Context

”Its a political and cultural border, a governance border, an ecological border, a social border, an artificial border”

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Excerpt from the article ”Norsken, svensken og villmarken”, D2 describing the border line in Femundsmarka, Eidskog/Eda.

Observation

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The clearing, seen in the distanc, is refurbished every 25years.

Line Hårklau

II

Three Border Pavilions

I

Twin Brother Pavilion

Border House

Border House Twin Brother Pavilion 24

Border House wavering between two teriirtories

59.097631, 11.270663 Old Svinesund Bridge, Halden Berglund Brothers

Borde Land of Pr Illustration

61.919139, Femundsmar Hikers an

Fluid Territory Pavilion

er Wall reservation

, 11.939735 rka, Engerdal nd Tourists

Floating Border

Elevation and Section

III

Fluid Territory Pavilion

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Fluid Territory Floating Observatory The Observatory stuck in the ice at Isfjorden

78.240367, 15.646787 Isfjorden, Longyearbyen Inhabitants on Svalbard

Floating Border

Collage

II

Paper Projects

I Border House

Twin Brother Pavilion User: Ola and Pontus Berglund Site: Old Svinesund Bridge

The Border House is a proposed dwelling placer under the Old Svinesund Bridge. The bridge, which became a symbol of the border between Norway and Sweden during the pandemic, crosses Iddefjorden at its most narrow point. The borderline runs along the fjord and cuts through the bridge, highlighted by a painted line in the road. During the pandemic, the two brothers met here every Saturday for a year.

The house has two entrances found on both sides of the border.

The stairwell brings the brothers down along the borderline with a focus viewed on Iddefjorden. Once inside the dwelling, the brothers find themselves in a space characterized by the concrete volume housing service functions and the outer skin, consisting of big glass areas. Supported by glass columns, the room constantly exposes the brothers to their territory and the borderline being the fjord. The concrete wall has openings located where the social features of the house sit.

The Border House wavers in the air between the fjord and the bridge, providing a space for co-existing align the definite border. Ideas, discussions, and brotherly love roam freely across the delimiting border through daily life. In the special physical and magico-religious point between two territories, the dwelling raises questions about borders as demarcating boundaries and will stand as a remembrance of when the Norwegian-Swedish border, overnight, became a strict territorial barrier.

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I

Twin Brother Pavilion

Border House

Twin Brother Pavilion

33

New and old bridge at Svinesund

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National Parks Norway

SCALE

Mapping

II

34

Paper Projects

Ola and Pontus Berglund meeting at Old Svinesund Bridge

Christian Nicolau Bjørke/NRK

Twin Brother Pavilion

35

Placed under the white painted borderline on the bridge

I

Twin Brother Pavilion

II

Paper Projects

Ola and Pontus Berglund weekly meeting

36

Border House

Section and Plan

3

I

Twin Brother Pavilion

Border House

Twin Brother Pavilion

37

24

Wavering in the air with a view over the fjord

Border House wavering between two teriirtories

Illustration

II

Paper Projects

II Border Wall

Land of Preservation User: Hikers and Tourists Location: Femundsmarka

The Land of Preservation is a new piece of land located between Norway and Sweden. It is a country created for nature, and institutions like government, visas, and religion are nowhere to be seen. Humans are allowed, but only as visitors with definite rules and limitations. Small border stakes run along the new borderline, and at strategic places with high traffic, bigger pavilions mark the entrance to the new country. Like the old mile castles along Hadrian’s Wall, these pavilions become entry gates and serve as a backdrop for the culture emerging at these crossings.

The pavilion located at Femundstunet, south of Femunden, is a long construction that follows the new borderline. Along the programmed wall, passers-by find places to pause, play and socialize in the threshold between everyday life and the Land of Preservation. The crossing of the wall dramatizes the rite to passage it is to transcend from one territory to another. In all its simplicity, the project raises questions about the purpose of nature preservation and border-crossing as a rite of passage.

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II

Land of Preservation

Border Wall

Land of Preservation

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28

Wilderness at Femundsmarka

Femundsmarka

Anno Norsk Skogmuseum

II

II

Paper Projects

Land of Preservation

National Parks

Border Wall

Parks facing border

After the UN released its Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in 2019, which was devastating in its reporting of the state of nature(3), one could argue that we have not found a sustainable way of co-existing with wildlife. When

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There are 47 national parks in Norway, 14 along a border

around 1 million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction (4), we need to reassess the way we think about nature and how we will protect it.

Land of Preservation

II

Land of Preservation

Border Wall

Norway Land of Preservation Sweden

Norway

Sweden

Norway

Sweden

There is a national park on both the norwegian and swedish side of the border. They have the same end goal of protecting nature, but with a different idealistic approaches 41 Currentand proposed condition it becomes confusing in relation to the use in theborder different countries. In the Land

of Preservation, humans will act like visitors with definite rules and limitations. The territory will be a third country with its own supremecy leading to the absence of the

II

Land of Preservation II

Paper Projects

Land of Preservation

42

37

Border to the new land running along Femunden

Territorial area of Land of Preservation

Border Wall

II

Land of Preservation

Border Wall

Land of Preservation

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39

Two floors frames the view into the Land of Preservation

Elevation of inhabited wall at Femunden

Collage

Collage

II

Paper Projects

III Fluid Territory

Floating Observatory User: Inhabitants on Svalbard Location: Isfjorden, Longyearbyen

The Floating Observatory is located outside of Longyearbyen on Svalbard. It drifts randomly around Isfjorden, and it is made up of elements that fit a standard-sized container. The pavilion creates a site for observing the northern light in a concentrated space. The arcade surrounding the center hall makes space for ice fishing or simply enjoying the view.

During winter, when Isfjorden turns into ice, the locals have a tradition of crossing the frozen fjord to their hunting huts.

This annual phenomenon does not only make Hiorthhamn available by foot, but it creates a community gathering on the ice. The usual boundary turns into a bridge and unifying space.

In the same way, the floating pavilion becomes accessible to the citizens of Svalbard. Much like the ice on Isfjorden, the industrial, political, and climate state of Svalbard is in constant change. By deliberately detaching the pavilion from land. The Floating Observatory mirrors these conditions. Drifting around Isfjorden, the pavilion reminds spectators of the fluid territorial border conditions. Its placement varies much like the variable ways we interact with the secluded island found far north in the Barents Sea.

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III

Fluid Territory Pavilion

Floating Border

Floating Observatory

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Dutch walers hunting on Isfjorden

Dutch whalers near Spitsbergen

Painting by Abraham Storck

Abraham Storck, 1690

III III

Fluid Fluid Territory Territory Pavilion Pavilion II

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49 49

Floating Floating Border Border

Paper Projects

When Isfjorden freezes, the people can access the observatory

Pavilion Pavilion when when Isfjorden Isfjorden is is frozen frozen

Plan

Plan Plan 1:200 1:200

III

Fluid Territory Pavilion

Floating Border

Floating Observatory

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The Floating Observatory at sea

50

Floating Observatory at Sea

Collage

Axonometric

II III

Paper Projects

Fluid Territory Pavilion

51

48

Floating Border

Elevation and Section

Opening the limbs gives access to both the arcade and the hall

Elevation and Section

III

Fluid Territory Pavilion

Floating Border

Floating Observatory

49

52

The Observatory stuck in the ice during midwinter

Collage

The Observatory stuck in the ice at Isfjorden

Collage

II

Paper Projects

Summary The Border House provides a shared dwelling creating a space for congress and togetherness along a definite, delimiting border. It articulates the fact that human relations know no geographical boundaries and it creates a physical, pleasant place to spend time at the border.

The Land of Separation addresses the issue of borders in relation to resources. Remotely located in the middle of the nordic wilderness, the project questions the reasoning for dividing the entirety of the earth into nation states.

By morphing the border into a third state, the idea of not owning land leads to a joint space of preservation. The instrument of the project being the power of bureaucracy and its potential to change the border condition and remove the absurd line found in the outskirts of our countries.

The Floating Observatory manifests the issues of tackling global challenges across borders. By presenting a shared space that floats around the international waters, the structure taps into questions regarding climate change, immigration and other international issues. Floating around at see, the project presents a shared space that presents a set of focused view. Up towards the sky and inwards down into the sea.

The series of pavilions presents a set of shared structures tackling their respective borders at different scale, context and physical configuration. In contrast to the current non-place often created by borders, they present wider relational places re-thinking what a border intervention might look like.

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Summary

II

Land of Preservation

Border Wall

Norway Land of Preservation Sweden

III

Sweden

Norway

Fluid Territory Pavilion

Norway

Floating Border

III

Fluid Territory Pavili

Sweden

There is a national park on both the norwegian and swedish side of the border. They have the same end goal of protecting nature, but with a different idealistic approaches it becomes confusing in relation to the use in the different countries. In the Land of Preservation, humans will act like visitors with definite rules and limitations. The territory will be a third country with its own supremecy leading to the absence of the human need for control.

51 49

30

Current - and Proposed situation

Pavilion when Isfjorden is frozen

Plan 1:200

Diagram

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Floating Observatory at

III

The Site

III

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The Site

Magnormoen sits on the border between Eidskog, Norway and Eda, Sweden.

Location

Magnormoen, Eidskog/Eda kommun The site is located on Magnormoen between Norway and Sweden. Found in the pine forest between Magnor and Charlottenberg, the border crossing is one of the busiest crossings between the two countries.

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III

The Site

Magnor

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Aerial Photo of the area between Magnor and Charlottenberg

Location

Charlottenberg

III

The Site

To Magnor

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3

5

7

1 2

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Magnormoen Train line

3 4

Norwegian Customs Swedish Customs

Siteplan

5 6

Montebello Camping Kongsvinger Industrial Park

7 8

Vrangselva Lindåsmyra N

Location

8

5

1

2

4

To Charlottenberg

Nature Reserve

1:8000

III

The Site

Characteristics The area surrounding Magnormoen is characterized by a rural landscape defined by hills, scattered marshlands, and meandering rivers. Like a carpet, a layer of pine forest covers it all. The urban structure is divided into two parts. First, the traditional farmhouses and associated programs scattered across the area pulled away from the main road. Secondly, a layer of built structures directly connects to cross-border consumerism and is placed along the highway, being the central transportation axis between the two countries.

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Mapping

Analysis

The Landscape The chosen site stretches from Vrangselva in the south west, to Lindåsmyra Nature Reserve in the north east. The elevation of the site is flat with a cliff down to the river and a slope down to the main part of the marchlands. Some hills are found in around the area and the forestlands are intact, exept from areas occupied by the highway and its adjacent buildings.

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Mapping

III Analysis The Site

Borders and Barriers Vrangselva and Lindåsmyra function as barriers created by the landscape. They make a natural end point for the chosen site. Inbetween these two, several man made features functions as borders arbitrary to the borderline. The highway and the railway are absolute borders with few crossing points for pedestrians.

The road accessing parking for the tourist information is less of a barrier, but marks the end of the human interactions towards the south west. The area between this road and the railway is serving as a tourist and memorial area today.

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Mapping

Crossing Points At certain points along the border, crossing points focuses the movement of people and goods.

The highway is the busiest crossing, and in the weekends a steady stream of norwegians travel to Charlottenlund for shopping. During the weekdays, Swedes commute to work the other way. Other crossing points are available, but these are slower and more rough. To tackle the smuggling issues, cameras or road barriers are put in place.

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Mapping

III

The Site

Arbitrary Generation Along the highway there is a generation of differnt kind of stuff related to the border condition. On the norwegian side industrial buildings, accomodation for cross-border tourism, and a significant border station is found along the road. On the swedish side there is fewer buildings. The ones that are there is shops and residental housing. There is however alot of advertising signs competing for the attention of the drivers informing of the offers found in Charlottenberg.

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Mapping

Analysis

Use of Land Along the highway, there is a generation of different kinds of stuff related to the border condition. On the Norwegian side, industrial buildings, accommodation for cross-border tourism, and a significant border station are found along the road. On the Swedish side, there are fewer buildings. The ones that are there are shops and residential housing. However, there are many advertising signs competing for the attention of the drivers informing of the offers found in Charlottenberg.

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Mapping

III

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The Site

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Morokulien Turistbyrå Parking Historic Shuttle Station Peace Monument Godisfabrikken Petrol Station Montebello Camping Morokulius G - Kroen Motel Norwegian Customs

11 12 13 14

Morokulien Furumo Linåsmyra Nature Reserve Vrangselva

Registration

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11

10

7

8

9

12

12

3

4 5 6

2 1 2 12

14

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Siteplan

1:5000

III

68

The Site

Norwegian Customs

Registration

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Sign marking the borderline crossing the highway

III

70

The Site

Characteristic nordic pine forest at Magnormoen

Registration

71

Plot of land next to Montebello Camping

III

72

The Site

Historical shuttle station

Registration

73

Border clearing running through the site

III

74

The Site

Sheriff Hans Olsen Bergan examining the structure

Kongsberg og Sandvær Historielag

Registration

Industrial Heritage The area is known for its timber, glass, and furniture industry. Strategically placed south of the big forest lands Finnskogen, the area benefitted from the unlimited supply of high-quality wood. Locals used rivers and streams to transport logs to the sawmills, and at times when the river was too rugged or small, temporary wooden constructions were put in place.

Even though the times when floating timber down these gutters have passed, the structures still stand as a remembrance of the golden industrial area, adding to the area’s cultural history.

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III

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The Site

Minister of Justice initiation a new shared border station

Screenshot nrk.no

Registration

Chosing of the site The former Minister of Justice, Monica Mæland, initiated the plans for a new shared border station at the beginning of the year. A strengthening against the smuggling crime is said to be the main reason for its existence. Due to economic circumstances resulting in cross-border consumerism, it can be assumed that the need for the new station is mainly for the Norwegian government. This assumption reflects upon the current scene and how the two customs differ in size and appearance.

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V

The Project

IV The Project

80

Program

Program The project presents a different take on what a border station could be. It orientates along the border axis and consists of an expanded set of programs manifesting the cultural, recreational, and infrastructural aspects of a border.

In contrast to the already initiated, purely administrative border station, the project inhabits the different stuff generated by the border condition. It organizes a series of spaces along with a linear path housing functions and necessities. Moreover, it proposes a strategy based on the fact that presence and occupancy may be as good of a security measure as yet another conventional building.

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IV The Project

Distribution of program

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1.

The Path

2.

Border Station Police Station Offices Storage

3.

Visitor and Science Center Info Exhibition Offices

4.

Restaurant Dining Hall Kitchen

5.

Sculpture Park Forest Pavilion Vertical Gallery

6.

Godisfabrikken w/gas station

7.

Choir Hall

8.

Swimming Pool

9.

Train Station

10.

Art space

11.

Hotel

12.

Wetland Pavillion

Program

Several interventions, ranging from a border station to an art gallery, adds up to a mega structure running along the entirety of the site. It allows for a range of different programs that all take advantage the special circumstances generated by the border.

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Strategy

IV The Project

Norway

Sweden

Current condition

Activate void

New condition

86

Proposed border condition

Strategy

Border Condition Today, the border between Norway and Sweden is marked with a 5m wide clearing of forest. This ”Grensegate” is refreshed every 25 years and creates a strip of void between the two territories.

The project inhabits this void and the clearing is considered a shared space owned by both countries. Like a vein, the strip becomes a reference point throughout the project serving spaces along the line with people, functions and other nescessities.

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IV The Project

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Orientation in parallel with the border.

Strategy

Orientation Instead of adding a building to the existing arbitrary axis, the new border station is orientated, and designed, in parallel with the border.

It organizes the functions on both sides of the border depending on the bureaucratic advantages of the country.

For example, the visitors staying at the hotel may still go to Godisfabrikken and buy cheap candy and the kitchen of the restaurant lies on the Norwegian side resulting in a higher salary for the cooks.

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IV The Project

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Two main components

Strategy

Components The path serves both as a supportive infrastructure to accommodate the volumes and a transportation line across the site. However, the main quality of the structure is its architectural experience. The linearity of the path sets up a sequence of spaces, views, and landscape scenarios.

The volumes are found scattered along the border connected to the path. They create spaces for occupancy at the border.

The use of the spaces mirrors the needs and opportunities found at the border.

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IV The Project

Walk

Function

Spatial Experience

92

Organisation

Strategy

Organisation Running along the entirety of the site, the path serves both as a transportation line and for housing the needed functions of the volumes. A repetitive construction with a width of a maximum of 5m pierces through the landscape along the borderline.

By having the program’s functions embedded in the walkway, the architecture of the pavilions can be shaped freely, and it opens up for spatial compositions out of the ordinary.

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IV The Project

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The structure can respond to the border conditions

Strategy

Phased Development The project is able to accommodate a phased development.

It takes place gradually and responds to the ever-changing state of the border.

The appearance of the structure can mirror the needs of the locals. The only requirement for the volumes is that they follow the gentle interaction with the landscape and use the cohesive material. For instance, a Swedish worker answered unsolicited that there was a lack of recreational activities in Charlottenberg. A beer brewery, a bowling alley, or a choir hall could easily be attached to the path to cover such a need.

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IV The Project

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Strategically placed parking

Strategy

Parking Parking is placed strategically in between the volumes. By doing so, the path is activated, and it generates buzz along the line. The placement encourages usage of the structure, and it mixes people going to and from the different spaces.

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Concept

IV The Project

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Conceptual section

Concept

Concept

Concept Section A simple, basic line stretches from the river to the wetlands, accompanied by a set of spatial experiences. The linearity of the path sets up a sequence of spaces, views, and landscape scenarios.

Plan The forest is seen as a mass in which the project digs out spaces along the path. In relation to the diagram (p. 86), this poché space becomes a morphing of the border condition.

Sequence of Spaces

Sequence of Spaces

In the midst of the forestlands between Norway and Sweden, a five-meter wide clearing pierces through the landscape. Its uncompromising approach to the physical world creates a unique spatial experience and it highlights the transition from one territory to the other.

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8

7 6 2

4 3

5

Sequence of Spaces

A new wooden pathway extends along the axis of the border through the existing, linear clearing that currently marks the border. This allow this vacant space to become navigable. A series of spatial experiences intensify or reveal the existing spatial conditions of the surrounding landscape.

This pathway allows access to the broader landscape and to a series of pavilions with different cultural and social uses.

It is constructed using a simple timber structural system composed of a variety of modular units.

1 2 3 4

Train Station Border Station Visitor Center Restaurant

5 6 7 8

Sculpture Park Godisfabrikken Choir Hall Swimming Pool

9 10 11 12

Train Station Art Space Hotel Wetland Pavilion

1

2

3

4 5

6

5

Sequence of Spaces

The projects differ in appearance depending on the local properties of the surrounding site. Sections, defined by crossing intersecting features like the highway, roads, or the train line, provide different configurations of the spaces.

This part stretches from the main parking down to the delimiting Vrangselva river in the southwest. It consists of several freestanding pavilions scattered around the surrounding forest, linked by a twisting path crossing back and forth over the border. It provides a destination for people wanting to experience the landscape and its interaction with the border.

1 2 3

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Walkway Foot bridge Vertical Pavilion

4 5 6

Gallery View Point Vrangselva

IV The Project

1

2

4

112

3

1:400

Sequence of Spaces

1 2 3

113

Access Plinth View Point Vrangselva

4

Path ending at river bank

7

1 2

View Point Path

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Vrangselva

Sequence of Spaces

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Sequence of Spaces

Most of the built spaces along the route are found between the visitor center and the new train station. In this area, the number of programs, and their users, create a lively urban setting. Therefore, this section provides functions embedding cultural, recreational, and infrastructural functions of the border station.

Being the projects main entry point, the visitor center is added to welcome the tourists. Next to it, the existing parking is kept as it is today, with some additional spots added next to the gas station and train station.

The structure relates to the surrounding buildings, like providing space for the historical shuttle station and providing a swimming pool to the camping site. The mix of different users will strengthen the community and erase the otherness often created by a border.

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Train Station Swimming Pool Choir Hall Historical Station

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Godisfabrikken Vrangselva Border Station Restaurant

Visitor Center 9 10 Parking 11 Montebello Camping

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Sequence of Spaces

This part of the border station combines the prosaic functions of the visitors center with a café and contemporary art and cultural program. The building acts as a touristic amenity, a gateway to the border pathway, and distributed cultural facilities located in the adjacent pavilions. It displays artworks that are commissioned or curated to respond to the theme of Borders.

The building is made up of several stories housing exhibition spaces, a science center combining the minds of both countries and associated offices. Using the height of the building an ’art screen’ will project large digital works and responds to the scale of the highway infrastructure. An outdoor sculpture park will be developed with works situated along the border pathway or within the adjacent forest.

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Reception Exhibition Seminar

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Kitchen Counter Dining Hall

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Verticals To parking

IV The Project

kt + 139,8 m

kt + 138,6 m kt + 137,4 m

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Path Reception

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Dining Hall Science and Art Center

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Art Sign Parking

Sequence of Spaces

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Sequence of Spaces

A swimming pool and a choir hall are in the middle of the project.

On the plain, where the former peace monument used to be, the new project ties the countries together with leisure activities. By adding a use that attracts people, this project contrasts the splitting properties of the previous installation.

Located next to the camping, the pool would be a quality that could benefit the residents, other locals, and visiting tourists by offering an attractive place to stay. The pool challenges the tendency to rush through border crossings strengthening the existence of a non-place The choir hall is a space for coming together with song or dance, recognizing the long traditions of local music and ”dansband.”

The structure’s interior space has an impressive height, and a ramp is put into the double walls as a smooth way down, exiting the path.

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Choir Hall Swimming Stands

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Showers Changing Groups

IV The Project

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Choir Hall Swimming Pool

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Stands Changing Rooms

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Walkway Entrance Ramp

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Sequence of Spaces

This section of the project has fewer spaces, making room for future development. In addition, two art spaces add a destination to this part of the border station and invite visitors to travel the entire length of the structure, making it into a hiking trip.

The structure returns into the wilderness at the northernmost part of the project. Finally, the structure ends at the Wetland Pavilion, and the clearing in the trees continues into the landscape.

In all its simplicity, the totality of the project addresses questions about delimiting borderlands, the fluctuating state of a border, and the implications of cross-border consumerism. Furthermore, the border station provides a reason to spend time, interact and socialize at the border between Norway and Sweden.

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Art Space Gallery Redirected road

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Hotel Wetland Pavilion Lindåsmyra Nature reserve´

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Sequence of Spaces

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Dock Wetlands Toilet

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Sleeping Fireplace Kitchen

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Wetlands View Dock

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Kitchen Wetland Pavilion

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The Path

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The Path and a vertical pavilion in the sculpture park

The Path

Model 1:100

IV The Project

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Different configurations of the system

The Path

Modules

A series of modules measuring 4800mm x 3000mm, make up the core of the construction system. The variations are required to achieve different structural spans and respond to different ground conditions. This allows for structural efficiency and minimizes the impact on the landscape.

In most instances, the structure takes the form of a simple, short-span post and beam construction. However, where required, timber elements are configured to create a simple truss to increase the potential structural span. In these situations, the timber elements perform different roles as the top or bottom chords, compression struts, or triangulating diagonal elements of the truss. Typically the structural depth of these trusses is around 1.2m or 3m and is integrated with the handrail construction or sheltering canopy structure.

Using a repetitive, trabeated system using small-scale timber elements facilitates the pathway’s construction within the limited space of the existing, linear border clearing through the forest.

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The Path

Construcion

The roof structure is the walking path varying in height, the perception of the pine forest changes through the length of the project.

When needed, the lower floor of the structure can be used as space for functions freeing up space and restrictions on the surrounding volumes. In this case, the lockers and changing boots of the swimming pool.

Junctions between timber structural elements use stainless steel ’knife-plate’ structural connections with bolted interfaces. This allows dry assembly and the future disassembly and re-use, or reconfiguration, of structural elements.

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Tømmerenne - Traditional timber floating construction

Photo: Nils Gamnes

The Path

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Constructive Model

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IV The Project

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Handrail between path and a pavilion

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The Path

Detailing The handrailing of the path is, in general, made up of wood boards. However, at times when it branches out and connects to the volumes, it changes its appearance with steel wire. By doing so, the pathway and the volumes get visually separated at a distance, enhancing the linearity of the path.

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IV The Project

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The Path running through the pine forest

The Path

Echoing the traditional timber floating structures, the path runs through the landscape supported by repetitive vertical elements. The rigorous repetition highlights the beauty of the pine trees that make up the forest plain’s character.

The module stands on pillars creating a small footprint on site. Raising the construction lets insects and animals cross the borderline, but it also provides a system that can tackle the different ground conditions at the site. ...

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IV The Project

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The Path with interior functions on ground level

The Path

... The path transports the visitors to their destination on an elevated walkway above the ground. When needed, the ground floor has the possibility to house functions and other needs inside the repetitive system.

As an abstraction and generic shape, the path highlights the borderline. It counters the volumes placed along with the structure and ties them all together. ...

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IV The Project

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The Path crossing the highway in the weekend

The Path

... The structure can tackle longer spans at places where that’s needed. For example, where the structure meets the traffic roads, the pathway can span above for longer distances.

The path becomes a reference point when wandering around the site. It reminds the visitor of the presence of a theoretical borderline cutting uncompromisingly through the landscape.

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IV The Project

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The path crossing the highway

Collage

The Path

Above all, the path is a way of activating the border line.

The walkway contrasts the current introverted shopping centers, and the border becomes a place for socializing, strengthening the local community in the area. ...

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IV The Project

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Seating imbeded in the structure

The Path

... Places to stay are provided by the flexibility of the module. It can vary in width and height depending on the wanted configuration. ...

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IV The Project

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Viewpoint ending the structure towards the river

The Path

... The viewpoint marks one end of the project. By elevating the visitors up over the river, it provides an endpoint and a destination.

While the visitors journey end here, the border continues its journey piercing through the forest.

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5.

Epilogue

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Epilogue

Conclusion The paper projects that initiated the design process of this thesis functioned as a trigger for the final proposal. As a result, qualities and solutions developed in the three border pavilions can be seen in the final result.

By discussing different aspects of the concept of borders, this period proved to be an eye-opener. In the process of doing short paper projects with a definite deadline, the creative process became liberated and initiated the discussion of borders.

Considering the goal of the thesis, to use architecture as a tool to comment on the way we design architecture along our border and explore its potential, the three paper projects proved to be a highly effective tool for investigating a concept.

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Summary

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Land of Preservation

Border Wall

Norway Land of Preservation Sweden

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Sweden

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Fluid Territory Pavilion

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Floating Border

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Fluid Territory Pavili

Sweden

There is a national park on both the norwegian and swedish side of the border. They have the same end goal of protecting nature, but with a different idealistic approaches it becomes confusing in relation to the use in the different countries. In the Land of Preservation, humans will act like visitors with definite rules and limitations. The territory will be a third country with its own supremecy leading to the absence of the human need for control.

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Current - and Proposed situation

Pavilion when Isfjorden is frozen

Plan 1:200

Diagram

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Floating Observatory at

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Epilogue

The proposal consists of a structure inhabiting the void made by the threshold between two countries. It creates a place characterized by a set of spatial experiences relating to the topographical context of the site. It is a cultural, recreational, and infrastructural answer to a conventional task, and it responds to the fluctuating properties of a border. It can grow, dissolve or even change location, and the structure’s design leaves a different footprint co-existing with the landscape rather than exterminating its qualities.

This answer to the task of designing a new border station activates a current non-place complemented by the sense that it defines a space not belonging to either of the two sides but rather a shared space for socializing across the border. The proposed border station results from a thesis exploring the architectural potential of borders and uses architecture as a means to expose and challenge the implications of a borderline.

I wanted to use the freedom of the thesis to explore the potential of a void, a non-place, and its relation to the physical world. By using a method that fragmented the process, not knowing the result, curiosity and spirits were held high. Moreover, by using the tools of architecture, I got to spend my thesis in a way I truly enjoyed.

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Summary

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For this, I owe a great deal of gratitude to Stuart Dickson for your inspiring guidance and immense presence.

Jørgen Skatland & Olav Kristoffersen for valuable discussions and advice.

Eplehuset Servicesenter for trying to retrieve the data swimming in coffee.

Family and friends, without your help, this thesis would not happened spring of 2022

Quotations Mars, R. (Host). (2021, Oct 27). Fifty-Four Forty or Fight (No. 463) [Audio podcast episode]. In 99% Invisible. Roman Mars. https://99percentinvisible.org/ Halvorsen, O. J., & Fandango, S. (2021, October 8). Norsken, svensken og villmarken. D2, Dagens Næringsliv, (39), 10–19.

Image Credits Schoelzel, A. (2009). Canadian-American peace activist John Runnings, then aged 68, walked along a section of the Wall in 1986, as a form of non-violent protest. edition.cnn.com. Retrieved May 14, 2022, from https://edition. cnn.com/2019/11/09/europe/gallery/berlin-wall-rise-fall-grm-intl/index. html.

Habans, P., & Match, P. (2019). Women meeting by a temporary border enhanced by a barber fence . nytimes.com. Retrieved May 14, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/09/world/berlin-wall-photos-30-year-anniversary.html.

Hawkes, J. (n.d.). Ruins of Hadrians Wal, the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire. discoveringbritain. Retrieved May 14, 2022, from https://www.discoveringbritain.org/activities/north-east-england/1812/ hadrians-wall-aerial.html.

Hurley, J. F. (2014). Australian 4th Division field artillery brigade crossing a former no mans land. theatlantic.com. Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/04/world-war-i-in-photos-introduction/507185/.

Pinchewsky, S. (2015). The Jefferson Grid. instagram.com. Retrieved May 14, 2022, from https://www.instagram.com/p/6po5E1idiZ/.

Schulz, C. J. (2015). Checkpoint Cap Cerbère on the border between Spain and France. pbs.org. Retrieved May 14, 2022, from https://www. pbs.org/newshour/arts/the-surprising-beauty-in-europes-abandoned-border-checkpoints.

Hårklau, L. (2020). Gamle stubber og trær vitner om forrige gang grensegaten ble ryddet, her trolig i 1929. aftenposten.no. Retrieved May 14, 2022, from https://www.aftenposten.no/amagasinet/i/8mr6kE/ for-27-aar-siden-startet-oppryddingen-av-europas-lengste-landegrense?code=ONwOBapMSY0hAMQ8lURVHVjvrjNrbNZLLeakCMbNBudA4gJX1iSf60g6f2o4wZtC. Tømmerenne kløvstad. (2021). digitaltmuseum.no. Retrieved May 14, 2022, from https://digitaltmuseum.no/021019683639/tommerrenne-klovstad.

Klarsignal. (2021). nrk.no. Retrieved May 14, 2022, from https://www. nrk.no/innlandet/justis--og-beredskapsminister-pa-magnormoen-sier-ja-til-felles-norsk_svensk-politistasjon-1.15619595.