European Steel Design Award 2013

Extent
The trollstigen plateau is a very comprehensive architectural project, both in program, complexity and extension. It covers an area that from one end to the other takes about twenty minutes of continuous walking. At the same time the complex is sized to receive a lot of people in a short time. Around 500,000 people distributed in 100,000 vehicles visit the site during the summer months. This lay down large demands to infrastructure and logistics.

The Trollstigen plateau will through the finished project to offer more to visitors than it does today. Visitors to Trollstigen will have a richer experience of nature, and the project will be a powerful showcase for Norway. The complex will be of high quality on international level. The experience of the unique character of the site will be strengthened through well-functioning and customized public facilities. An architectural red line which helps to give an overall impression of Norwegian nature and culture at its best, worthy of a National Tourist Road.

The following five premises dictate the project:

• DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE
The project treats the area with a coherent incremental strategy which illustrates several development perspectives in one single grip.

• ADJUSTMENT TO SITE
All buildings, zones, and elements of the project are helping to underpin the site's unique character, and give visitors an added value in relation to the travel experience.
• CIRCULATION
Traffic termination and mobility is resolved so that security and clarity have priority. The different groups of visitors are informed and led from the entry area into the countryside.

• NATURE – ARCHITECTURE
Architecture and elements are resolved to give precise transitions between the planned zones and the landscape.

• WATER, MOUNTAIN AND SPACE
Through water as dynamic element (from snow, via running to falling mass) and mountain mass as static element, the project seek through a series of conditions to describe and enhance the very unique landscape of the site.



KEY GRIP
The experience of the project will be characterized by an interaction between the uniqueness of the site and the architectural expression of the building complex. Emphasis should be made to underline the unique landscape through the conceptual approach. This gathers all functions for a fully integrated area as opposed to the previous scattered situation.

The project will clarify the situation by collecting all parking in a unified system, modifying the road route, and establish a new bridge over the River.

Establishment of a clear entrance area with a collected parking space, constitute a change in the site's movement. This is the basis for all further solutions in the project. At the same time all commercial activities are gathered here.

The site is characterized by the natural landscape. All project elements will support the experience of the nature and submit to the context and interact with the dramatic landscape. This implies a gradual development of the site with a reduction of constructions with a low quality, and alteration of the chaotic traffic patterns, to distinct and more robust solutions. At the same time all new architecture is integrated as built landscape in the dramatic nature.

Complexity
The complexity of the system is created by a collection of structural and operational challenges that the National Tourist Road Project is facing. There are many needs. Therefore, the complex has everything from small seating elements to large landscaped building constructions.
Since the summer of 2005, there has been construction activity on the Trollstigen plateau. Since the road is only open during the summer, the construction process offers many challenges.

Project Solutions
The demand for solutions to the various parts of the complex is high. It is important to build the architectural installations so they are adapted to the landscape, can withstand wear and tear from the public, and especially the violent forces of nature. In summer, autumn and spring, there have been major floods causing extensive damage. The amounts of snow in the winter months are so large that extraordinary static, solid solutions are required. Since the project consists of a number of individual measures, it is organized into a system of subsite development.


PROJECT DATA

Architect: Reiulf Ramstad Architects
Client: The Norwegian Public Roads Administration
Program: Restaurant, exhibition areas, flood barriers, services, souvenir shop, panoramic platform, panoramic viewpoint, pedestrian paths, rest areas, outdoor seating elements, water cascades.

Site: 150.000 sq.m.
Indoor building: 1500 sq.m.