Risøy- Europan 16
How can this island of breathtaking contrasts become place where industrial activity and all forms of life complement one another?
Risøy has always been the economic engine of Haugesund. As a vibrant interface between the local and global economy, Risøy is a place where civil society and industrial activity always existed side by side. That balance has gradually been upset: the industrial activity has been scaled up, whereas the historical residential area has been neglected. The island is bursting with unique locations and dramatic contrasts, but the streets are devoid of activity, and its public spaces are run down.
The residents of the iconic island of Risøy are proud of their identity but face challenges with respect to standards of living, infrastructure and access to services. How can this industrial island of breathtaking contrasts become a better place to live, where the industrial activity and daily life complement one another?
Risøy is in need of a public space strategy that accommodates the pulsating flows of workers, cruise passengers, goods and machines that pass through the island and at the same time gives special care to the few remaining ecosystems and the vulnerable groups living on the island.
Haugesund has entered Europan before and in 2020 received the Housing - and Town plan price for their 10 year long engagement with the implementation of the winning entry from Europan 11. The municipality now trusts Europan with their next large town planning process on the island Risøy - a site that invites entrants to envision both the big picture and detailed local interventions in order to weave the large- and small scale together into a functioning whole.
Site definition.
Competition premise:
Risøy, a neighbourhood in the centre of Haugesund, is home to a shipyard that is one of the most important employers for the town and region, as well as older housing of highly variable quality. The island is also an important terminal for local ferries and visiting cruise ships. In many ways, Risøy is Haugesund’s gateway from the sea, which means it helps to shape people’s first impressions and the town’s reputation in the world. The shipyard generates a lot of traffic, including cars and heavy goods vehicles, which puts pressure on infrastructure and occupies road space. Large areas are taken up by surface parking.
Risøy has always been a centre for trade, manufacturing and the town’s contact with national and global markets. It used to be the fishing industry that exported its products all over the world, but now the shipyard and cruise port represent Risøy’s interface with the world economy. At Risøy, buildings typical of a historic local community meet the enormous scale of the global infrastructures. How can that meeting be managed in a way that reduces friction and develops synergies, thereby making Risøy a better place to live and visit?
The neighbourhood has for a long time suffered from low standards of living, including a big backlog of maintenance and upgrades to both houses and public spaces. Risøy is a well-known part of the town centre, which gives it great potential to become an attractive residential area with a strong identity and an important piece in the town’s future development. The island is bursting with unique small squares, forgotten parks, public access routes to the sea, quays, historical buildings, industrial buildings, permanent and temporary structures and dramatic contrasts of scale.
The island offers huge potential for exciting urban interventions, new synergies and temporary experiments. The municipality wants socially and economically sustainable ideas and strategies for how to revitalise the district through a sensitive approach to the local urban infrastructure and ecology.
Europan16 - Risøy
Competition Assignment
Design a strategy that will enable Risøy to become a thriving neighbourhood once again.
The strategy should include an overall vision and a series of individual projects demonstrating how the strategy can be implemented gradually.
Entrants should prioritise addressing the problem of low standards of living by actively improving conditions for vulnerable groups and the few remaining ecosystems on the island.
The key will be to systematically think about all types of living environments to create an infrastructure that works for humans and non-humans alike.
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1
The bridge
The bridge to Risøy is hostile to pedestrians. The weather dosent help.
2
The Risøy kiosk
The only remaining shop is the mini convenience store, called Risøykiosken, by the shipyard, where fast food and unhealthy snacks are the only options. It is symptomatic of the lack of services on the island, which means that the residents of this small, central island have to cross the bridge just to get some healthy food. Risøy has ended up becoming a food desert. This means the island has lost many of the small, informal meeting points that constitute the glue that binds a neighbourhood together and is needed for it to function well.
3
The Municipal block
A block of buildings owned by the municipality. They want to use these buildings as part of the revitalization strategy.
4
The bridge
Seen from the Risøy side towards Haugesund centre.
5
Seafront
The seafront is mostly privatized and has few public spaces and access points.
6
Fasades
A typical Risøy house.
7
Street grid
The street grid on Risøy is a continuation of the grid in the centre.
8
Access to the sea
So near yet so far away.
9
Scale
Large cruse ships and oil installations dock at Risøy. Many hosting up to 10 times the population of the island.
10
Garpeskjær
Is the international port for Haugesund.
11
Worker Barracks
At the far north of the island, there are rows of temporary workers’ barracks located on the grey reclaimed land out towards the sea. Shipyards need a lot of space, and to allow efficient operations, there is a strong need for large, flexible spaces. In the case of a highly built-up island, like Risøy, there is limited access to additional space, and in principle, Aibel does not intend to give up much of its land for alternative uses.
12
Green space
Risøy has a couple of hidden parks, but is in need of more green space.
13
Playground
The park next to the bridge is newly renovated.
14
The buffer zone
Between the residential areas and the shipyard is a wide zone characterized by a lot of asphalt and parking.
Commission for the winner(s)
Haugesund municipality will ask the winning team(s) to develop Risøy through a set of 3 assignments: These constitute assignments worth a total of NOK 1 500 000 over two years, commissioned by the municipality of Haugesund.
1. Initial, small-scale project with temporary structures
2. Design of the courtyard of the municipal block
3. Follow-up strategy for public spaces at the project site
Copyright: Aibel, credits: Øyvind Sætre
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Read more about Risøy in the competition brief. Download it here:
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