Krøgenes
Transform a big box shopping and industry area into a vibrant urban district centre.
Intro
Use this webpage to understand the site by exploring interactive maps, pictures and 3d models of the site. At the end there are links to the full competition brief and how to register.
Krøgenes is a car-based district centre in Arendal municipality that has found itself in a strategic position facing an upcoming era of transition. Consisting mainly of big box retailers, warehouse facilities, parking lots as well as industry today, the area sits in the middle of several existing and planned developments.
One of the most significant developments is the new battery factory, now under construction just to the north of the site. The factory will create more than 2500 new jobs and attract an estimated 6500 new inhabitants to the immediate area.
Thousands of new inhabitants flowing into Arendal over the next few years provides a unique chance to develop Krøgenes into a strategic, urban centre, which the area is already ideally positioned for. The scale of the changes will place huge demands on the municipality both in terms of capital, planning resources and care services. The challenge is to ensure sufficiently rapid construction while maintaining social sustainability.
The influx of so many new inhabitants will visibly affect the social structure of Arendal’s neighbourhoods making socially sustainable processes and planning essential. The success of this upcoming transformation will largely hinge on a productive and democratic collaboration with local businesses, civil society and inhabitants. Arendal has a decade of experience in developing successful co-creation processes and networks, which can provide solid starting points for the development of Krøgenes.
Krøgenes is surrounded by large suburbs and steep topography. How can this new urban centre be connected to its surroundings?
The development of smaller, compact local centres is a key strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emission in the municipality’s Regional Spatial and Transport Plan. Krøgenes exemplifies the main challenges Arendal faces in order to realise this strategy. The prevalence of monofunctional car-based trade areas detached from their surroundings, lack of pedestrian and bicycle connections and low housing qualities all provide tangible starting points on the path towards developing a better Krøgenes.
By stimulating collaboration between local forces, Arendal aims to trigger local initiatives and new sustainable solutions.
What processes and interventions could help imbue Krøgenes with a strong identity, increase well-being and belonging, as well as open possibilities for climate-friendly mobility?
Arendal has entered Europan 17 to find ways to develop the Krøgenes area into a vibrant local and well-connected urban centre. Innovative forms of mobility and regenerative typologies of public space, housing and services can all be leveraged in the case of Krøgenes to create value for both the climate and local economy. The project site has many private owners who need to see a positive return on their investment. How can the development be tuned so that it provides the care needed for the existing local community and the even stronger, robust sense of care, community, and accessibility that will make the new inhabitants feel at home?
Task
Make a proposal for a holistic intensification and transformation of Krøgenes into a well-connected, local urban centre that supports the needs of the growing population that comes with the new battery factory and associated industries. Do also take into account the needs of the existing communities of neighbours and local businesses. Show how the proposal work in the immediate, medium and long term.
Arendal municipality wants proposals of urban design and programming that are visionary in terms of regenerative capabilities, urban typologies, sustainable building practices, mobility and social sustainability. The municipality also wants feasible processes for how to engage local actors, businesses and civil society in the transformation.
Site limitations.
Commission
Europan is part of a longer process of developing Krøgenes. The municipality will continue co-creation processes, both with landowners, businesses and neighbours throughout the entire development of Krøgenes.
The winners will be invited to lead an on-site workshop together with the municipality and stakeholders to evaluate the proposal and look at how to further develop the ideas.
Based on the results of the workshop, Arendal and the winning team will negotiate a timeline and follow up commission valued approximately 250 000 NOK (ex. VAT) in 2024. The commission will pay for further development of the project and a step-by-step process for the area in collaboration with the municipality and/or their consultants.
Later in 2024, a second workshop with a total budget of approximately 250 000 NOK (ex. VAT) will be held to jointly present and develop the plans further with private actors and land owners. The majority of the project site will be developed by the private sector and for the second workshop the winning team will be in a position to negotiate on future contracts with the private stakeholders.
Total commission value
500 000 NOK + a possibility to negotiate work from private stakeholders
Explore the site
More information
Register
Deliverables
- 3 vertical A1 project panels (pdf) - 1 illustrated text presenting the ideas of the project (4 pages max.); - Documents proving the eligibility of the team members; - Documents for communication (3 images + a text of 800 signs, spaces included);
Who can participate
Europan is open to any team consisting of at least one graduated architect, who may be in association with one or more professionals of the same or related disciplines within the architectural, urban and landscape field (such as architects, urban planners, landscape architects, engineers, artists) or from other relevant fields (such as sociology, geography, biology) and may further be associated with one or more students with a bachelor degree or equivalent (3 years of study) in architecture or related disciplines. The team may also have one or more contributors, who are not considered authors of the project. Every team member must be under the age of 40 years old on the closing date for submission of projects. See complete set of rules for Europan 17 on europan-europe.eu
What is Europan?
Europan is an international architecture and urban design competition that takes place every two years. It was established in 1988 by to gather innovative ideas for solving Europe´s housing crisis and has since become one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind in the world.
The aim of Europan is to promote innovative and sustainable approaches to urban design, and to encourage young architects and urban planners to think critically about the challenges facing modern cities. The competition is open to architects and urban planners under the age of 40, and typically attracts several thousand participants from all over the world.
Each Europan competition focuses on a specific theme related to urban development, such as urban regeneration, social cohesion, or sustainable mobility. Participants are asked to submit proposals for a specific site within a designated European city, with the aim of addressing the theme and improving the overall quality of life for the city's residents.
The winning proposals are selected by an international jury of architects, urban planners, and other experts, and are typically implemented as part of the city's long-term urban planning strategy. The competition has been responsible for many innovative and sustainable urban design projects across Europe, and has helped to shape the way that architects and urban planners think about the challenges facing modern cities.