Trollstigen Visitor Center, Norway.
As we are already well into January (still 11,5 months to go!..), we at Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter would like to express our best wishes for 2024 to our friends, clients, and collaborators.
In the global
Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter is excited to be regularly invited to work on projects, and to continue to extend our reach also outside of Scandinavia.
In Belgium, Mills of Deinze, the conversion of an historical industrial mill into a mixed-use neighborhood, will continue into its second phase development. We’ve also been commissioned for a first project in Luxembourg, a masterplan for a car-reduced and inclusive neighborhood in the village of Leudelange, just outside Luxembourg City. In Sweden we are continuing the prestigious work with the new central station building in Gothenburg, for which we recently received the building permit during the holidays.
In the local
At Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, we are increasingly working on socially conscious neighborhoods. Three district plans have been sent for political approval in Oslo during 2023– Trykkeritomten in Nydalen, Hovseter Gardens and Atrium House in Gamlebyen. We are excited to start the new year with a collaboration on a feasibility study for The Old Veterinary School. A highlight in 2023 has been the approval of our district plan for Bakgårdsslottet in Parkveien, the densification of a perimeter block behind the Royal Palace in Oslo. In Bispevika B9, the plot that will finalize the development of the Bjørvika neighborhood, we have now delivered the concept design for an ambitious housing project of 120 apartments directly on the Oslofjord in the Oslo City Center.
In Denmark, we have started the second phase of the project at Stieg Larssons Alle in Randers, Katrinetorvet recently broke ground, and we are starting the next phase of the masterplan at Marienlyst, north of Aarhus.
In the landscape
Since the early days of our studio, we have worked with considerate landscape integrations. 2023 kicked off with the competition win for a mixed-use mountain village and a community project, Turutun in Turufjell, Norway, which touches on the topic of how to preserve a fragile nature in a sustainable development of mountain resorts. In Jutland, Denmark, our project for a new branch of the National Gallery of Denmark, SMK Thy, broke ground in January and will bridge together art and nature education in a meaningful way in “Naturlandsbyen Thy” while at the same time preserving the heritage of Doverodde Købmandsgård. Meanwhile, in Hjørring, House of Grain, an experience center for grain, food and culture activities was awarded the DOGA Award for Design and Architecture. In 2023, we completed their Garden of Grain, which allows the centre to arrange outdoor activities all year round. RRA is honored to be selected to participate as one of 3 international teams for a main building for the Val d’Isere ski resort at the foot of the iconic Bellevarde ski slope, the competition was kicked off in January.
In the office
In 2023, we officially opened our Copenhagen Architecture Workshop in an old blacksmith’s building at Gammel Kongevej, Fredriksberg. This is our second office opening in Denmark and will serve as a workshop space between our Aarhus and Oslo offices as well as a meeting place for activities of the Arts and Culture. Although expanding in Scandinavia, our office continues to focus on being a tight knit team, working close together across borders.
On the construction site
In Scandinavia and outside, we have several ongoing construction sites, and we are excited to see many of them under completion in the coming years. In Denmark alone, we have five on-going building sites, with many expected to be completed in 2024.
2023 was also the year where we celebrated the 5 year anniversary of our book, Contours & Horizons, Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2018 – a publication to which the five chapters of this letter refer to.
Contours & Horizons is more relevant than ever, touching all the topics and theories that we have worked on for almost 30 years and that are more relevant and more discussed than ever before for an architecture of high quality, a humanistic approach and sustainably responsible.
We at Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter are grateful for the experiences we have had together and with all of you the last year, and wish you all a prosperous 2024.
