At Vandkunsten Architects we design architecture for people. Our houses are designed for the ways that people live, work, play, and think. Housing, buildings, and cities must be at eye level and make room for communities.
Understand the past - respect the future
Transitions between archipelago and the city
projects
Since 2000 the development of Oslo has followed the Fjord City masterplan for areas fjord waterfront. The Opera House was built according to this plan. In 2012 Vandkunsten Architects won the competition for two plots in the Bispevika area neighboring the Opera neighborhood. It is currently under construction. The new residential area is located on the waterfront in central Oslo. Contrasting the dense and high buildings behind it, we have used characteristics from natural archipelagos that is a series of spatial transitions – from the open sea to the calm inland waters – and to the little rock you climb with the feeling of being the very first.
Vandkunsten win in Horsens planning competition
news
A blue water loop to tie the urban centre together and offers climate protection to the 'Åkvarteret' and other parts of midtown. Space for new development and a robust traffic network to lead more cars aroubd the urban centre - these are some of the elements in the winning proposal by Team Vandkunsten for 'Åkvarteret in Horsens.
Local community built in wood
projects
Built in wood, the 100 units in Fjordparken were part of the experimental Casa Nova Consortium to develop processes and prefabrication for wood-based construction. With offset units, they all have corner qualities and great views to the fjord. The project has gallery access held by solid wood and shielded by a large roof overhang. The project was built by in 2002 for a non-profit and a private cohousing client, Himmerland Boligforening and Andelsforeningen Marina Fjordparken. The latter was formed for the occasion has proven its community strength over time as it was named best cohousing 2019 by the Danish cohousing associtation.
Low-rise, high-density architecture in Swedish
projects
On the Kattegat coast, just north of the Swedish city of Helsingborg, lies the idyllic town of Viken. An old fishing hamlet, not dissimilar to Skovshoved or Dragør in Denmark, places rich in local pride that attract visitors from near and far, who come here to experience the idyllic village atmosphere. Here, on a former school plot in the centre of town, Vandkunsten was commissioned to design a modern housing development with respect for the traditional setting. Around the turn of the millennium, Vandkunsten had been working mainly with low-rise, high-density architecture in non-profit housing. At Viken, we had the opportunity to translate these basic principles into a private project commissioned by an ambitious client, the co-op housing association HSB Västra Skåne. The development consists of 58 homes. Traditional, simple types that could be sited just about anywhere. But right here, in this idyllic setting, they come into their own, with their uniform and coherent expression. The high density encourages interaction and meetings in the narrow alleys and passageways. Classic Vandkunsten dogmas, but also virtues that have been practised in the hamlet since the 17th century.