Scan Magazine, Issue 105, October 2017

Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Nordic Architecture & Design Special – Norway

U2 Arkitekter designed the residential home in Fjellveien, Bodø. Photo: Ida Oppen.

Laminated beech and stainless steel in Hunstad Church. Photo: Marie Haugen.

Environmentally friendly house design As a small architecture firm based in the north of Norway, U2 Arkitekter’s work spans broadly throughout the private and public sectors. Though the one thing all projects have in common is a desire to create buildings that are gentle on the environment.

By Line Elise Svanevik

“We have a big focus on environmental construction, low energy consumption and local adaptation,” explains partner and senior architect Johnny Kristensen, who founded the company in Bodø back in 2004 together with fellow senior architect Richard Barriteau.

With a strong belief that each project should reflect its location, Kristensen starts by going to the place he’s drawing the building for, taking in the climate, local buildings – and, importantly, the needs of the customer.

“Some clients have ambitions of creating great architecture, while others want something simple, affordable and quick,” he explains. “We quickly start a dialogue to find out exactly what our customer wants, and afterwards we provide our expert opinion on what we think is a good solution for them. We always try to 98 | Issue 105 | October 2017

create good architecture that solves the task for everyone – if the client is happy and we’re happy, we’ve done a good job.”

Challenging perceptions The main challenge for creating architecture with a low carbon footprint is, according to Kristensen, often the construction industry, as many managers believe environmentally friendly solutions to be too expensive or impractical.

“Creating something with a low carbon footprint can be both affordable and practical – which is a message we want to put across,” he insists.

With the right use of local materials including wood, which Norway has a great tradition for, greater energy efficiency can easily be achieved. “Another challenge is that energy is cheap in Norway, so the solutions that are aimed to make things better for the environment can

be harder to get the price down on,” he says.

As a generalist, Kristensen finds all projects interesting. “With the right spirit and guts, everything can be made exciting, which is why we try to work across several types of projects,” he explains.

“We work in a modern, functionalist Nordic tradition, and I genuinely believe that today’s architecture is as good as that from the olden days. Some people say that they only like old houses, and that new ones are ugly – but we believe strongly in the modern architecture that exists today.”

Competition entry for Copenhagen’s Sydhavnen church. Photo: U2 Arkitekter.

Web: www.u2arkitekter.no