Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Nordic Architecture Special – Norway
By participating with a building in the Barcode project, MAD has helped transform central Oslo into a sustainable waterfront city and put Norway on the architectural map. Photo: Tomasz Majewski
Are you satisfied with a mediocre city? MAD’s architects have already transformed Norwegian cities through an uncompromising approach to sustainability and liveability. Now they are taking their vision abroad to prepare your city for the future. By Eirik Elvevold
“80 per cent of new buildings are mediocre. The remaining 20 per cent are either awesome or terrible, so people notice them and discuss them, but they don’t notice all the mediocracy popping up around them. That’s the real threat to any modern city,” argues MAD’s passionate CEO, Nicolai Riise. Ever since Riise established MAD together with two other partners in 1997, the architecture firm has fought mediocracy by leaving an increasingly evident mark of quality on Norwegian architecture. In Oslo, Europe’s fastest growing capital in terms of population, MAD has been involved in developing most – if not all – of the most eye-catching areas, including Bjørvika, Tjuvholmen, Sørenga and Nydalen. 30 | Issue 93 | October 2016
“MAD has played a key part in putting Oslo and Norway on the architectural map, especially through our contribution to the Barcode project. We’re now eager to take our fearless vision out into the world through the new endeavour MAD Global. I think there’s an extreme demand for our approach to sustainability,” Riise says confidently.
Sustainable or nothing at all Many CEOs like to talk about the environment, but Riise is not kidding around. Together with his team, he consistently makes choices to minimise MAD’s carbon footprint, even if that means declining lucrative offers. The approach has left more than one potential client feeling disappointed and slightly dizzy, but it is the source of MAD’s reputation
as an innovative office pushing the world in the right direction. Buildings such as the DigiPlex Data centre in Fetsund right outside Oslo are paving the way for a new sustainable era in Norwegian industry. “We would rather starve than do terrible projects. People don’t realise how climate change will affect our society. In 20 years, we might experience a full stop, where we’re basically told to close down buildings or forbidden to use certain materials. MAD is on the right side of history, which is why we’re a natural choice for projects like the new Oslo Bus Terminal. Our clean reputation generates the necessary trust,” Riise says.
Living for the liveable city MAD’s architecture is not only making Norwegian cities more striking and sustainable. It is making them more liveable too. According to Riise, multi-use buildings and accessible spaces such as the current project Media City Bergen are