Waterfront projects run into critics
Oslo's massive and ongoing plans to redevelop its waterfront have been widely praised, but now the high-rise office and apartment buildings that are part of the plans are stirring new debate. Critics worry that not only will historic areas from the Middle Ages literally be overshadowed, but so will Oslo's new landmark Opera House.
Oslo's massive and ongoing plans to redevelop its waterfront have been widely praised, but now the high-rise office and apartment buildings that are part of the plans are stirring new debate. Critics worry that not only will historic areas from the Middle Ages literally be overshadowed, but so will Oslo's new landmark Opera House.
This is the area known as "Bjørvika," Oslo's eastern harbour area. Its redevelopment is anchored by the new Opera House, the white low-rise building sloping into the sea at left-center. The high-rises to the right are sparking the new debate. ILLUSTRATION: RIksantikvaren
Ola Elvestuen of the centrist party Venstre, who leads the city council's development committee, went on national radio to express his concerns about the high-rise commercial structures meant to help pay for the redevelopment at Bjørvika, the portion of the waterfront east of the Akershus Fortress.
"There is no doubt that the buildings are too high and too massive," Elvestuen told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).
He said he fears they will create a "wall" along the waterfront, overshadowing both an historic park with foundations from the Middle Ages and the Opera House.
This row of high-rise buildings is known as the "bar code," just northeast of the Opera House. More are planned.
Powerful business and harbor interests, though, are most keen on getting as much money out of the waterfront area as possible. The heads of both the harbor commission and state railway NSB, public agencies which still control much of the waterfront area, want top prices for any land they may sell off to private development interests, and in order to profit on their investments, the private developers want to build as densely as they can.
New high-rises would also be built behind this view of the Opera House at Bjørvika, leading to fears that Oslo's new landmark also will be "walled in." PHOTOS: Views and News
Holme said in a speech last week that he wants Riksantikvaren to become "an even more clear" and active voice in the community planning process, even though he realizes he can be stepping into a mine field. He went ahead and did so, calling on city officials, the state landowners and not least the harbor administration and NSB to "think twice" before moving forward with current redevelopment plans.
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Moreover, Holme warned that his Directorate for Cultural Heritage also may formally oppose additional plans to build a new Munch Museum in a glass high-rise adjacent to the Opera House. Its design, by a Spanish architect, also has sparked criticism but was approved recently by redevelopment officials.
Holme thinks scaffolding rising to the 14-story height of the proposed Munch Museum building should be erected on the site as soon as possible, so "everyone" can better envision what a permanent structure would mean to the area. Holme won quick support from Opera officials and now from city politician Elvestuen.
Holme realizes his criticism and concerns are coming late in the waterfront redevelopment process, and that his directorate has limited power. Oslo's top city official, Stian Berger Røsland, told newspaper Aftenposten he "completely disagrees" with Holme's criticism.
Holme notes, though, that final building permits and rezoning permission still haven't been issued, and there's opportunity to exert influence and halt some of the most offensive structures.
"Our job is to try to take care of the historical aspects here," Holme said. If current plans are realized, he thinks future generations will condemn the lack of consideration for cultural preservation.
(Story written December 2, 2009)
Views and News from Norway/Nina Berglund
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