Eldhusøya
The Atlantic tourist road, on the west coast of Norway, is today one of the most visited leisure-travel destinations in Scandinavia. Because of its sheer proximity to the spectacular Storseisundet Bridge, Edhusøya quickly became trafficked with tourism after the road opening in July 1989.
Nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award 2017.
Our project is designed and engineered to protect the natural environment while providing unlimited pedestrian access to all kinds of visitors, regardless age or physical condition.
The scheme integrates an elevated promenade, a car park, and a small service building into a single infrastructural facility, it offers the road traveler a smooth pedestrian break around the island while providing panoramic views and sitting areas for resting and contemplation.
The hoovering nature of the platform and its railing discourages direct contact between visitors and the open landscape, while the permeable deck allows wind and rainwater to filter through and nurture the local flora below, also keeping the path dry for transit all year round. All structural elements are prefabricated in stainless steel as an adjustable kit-of-parts, a system of telescopic members which are assembled and fixed together with bolts to avoid any risks of corrosion by on-site welding.
The geometry of the path reacts to the possibilities and limitations of the terrain through a complex variation of tridimensional radial curves which are tightly tailored to the heterogeneous topography. Tourist services are completely embedded under the pedestrian infrastructure providing a weather refuge with café, tourist information and restrooms. The 150m long facade performs as retaining wall in order to liberate flat ground for vehicular parking and maneuverings, the wall fenestration and décor is inspired by Averøy’s fishing tradition and features an abstract shoal of herring.
In its conception and engineering, Eldhusøya draws entirely from transport infrastructure and its adaptability to the natural landscape, borrowing materials and prefabrication techniques from the maritime and offshore industries. Together with the iconic existing bridge, our intervention is intended to underscore the relationship between the natural and the manmade, contributing to the future of tourism and its development towards more sustainable forms of exploitation.
