2_3_ScanMagazine_Issue_81_Oct-Nov_2015_Scan Magazine 1 15/10/2015 21:37 Page 94
Above: DNB House, part of The Barcode. Photo: Olaf Kon. Below: In the loop. Illustration: DARK and ADEPT.
projects, The Barcode, sees a row of office buildings facing the waterfront as if it had its own miniature Manhattan skyline. However, while Manhattan’s buildings largely keep people out, one of the focuses when building The Barcode has been to allow people access to the waterfront between the buildings, creating attractive areas between, as well as through, buildings, making a unique city floor. “Our focus is not just on homes, but on neighbourhoods,” says Breen. “The quality we bring to the cityscapes is just as important to our way of thinking as the life inside the buildings.” WAF nominee In The Loop This year, DARK Architects is in the running for a WAF award with the city development project In The Loop. As the name suggests, the unique proposal aims to tie the old part of Asker with its squares, train station and restaurants to the new part, mainly consisting of sports activity offerings. “We designed a loop through
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the centre linking all the main aspects together, including parks, shops, transport links and leisure areas. This way, we avoided the typical divide between old and new,” Breen notes. Another project that may well bring about similar nominations is the work on Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park and Ullern College. This project sees two, even three, worlds joining forces in a unique collaboration: research, education and an incubator for start-ups. The idea is that everyone wins; for example, the students at the college can take part in real-time cancer research with access to labs and know-
ledgeable researchers. “It is a fantastic concept, the first of its kind, giving students access to proper research which in turn hopefully will encourage them to follow in similar footsteps,” Breen says, adding: “Our task was to find an architectural solution that would physically bring the different worlds together. Looking at it now, it has been hugely successful, and people are coming from all over the world for inspiration.”
For more information, please visit: www.darkarkitekter.no