Oslo's New Garden
Urban oasis by the fjord
2019–
Introduction
Oslo's New Garden is located in downtown Oslo in the "Fjord City" development. Historically, this area was the first and only public park in Oslo, called "Grønningen” or "Esplanaden”, that existed from 1805 to 1826. The following year, the Oslo Stock Exchange building was raised in the park, and most of the park was lost over the years. The ambition is to transform the neighboring plot into a new public garden, reconnecting it to the Stock Exchange's green space and the Oslo fjord. The garden is a retail-free zone - a tranquil and ample slow space embraced by botanical collections in a garden designed for strolling, exploring, and enjoying.
Technical details
Summer view from the Oslo Opera rooftop to the new green, urban lung.
A place to breathe
The development of dense urban areas covers a broad range of needs. Balancing economic and social sustainability and ensuring there are still spaces to breathe and reconnect with nature, is a challenge for cities worldwide. The Green Lung is an alternative proposal to the existing parking lot to establish a green urban oasis rather than building more office blocks on the last "void” along Oslo's inner harbor.
Providing the city with a larger, softer landscape by the fjord and a new place to explore, sit down, or pass through is a gift to the city, citizens, and visitors. New passages through the green plot provide new sightlines, invite people to stroll through the gardens, and connect the historic city grid in "Kvadraturen" with the fjord.
Winter wonderland with view towards the winter festival pavilion.
A winter festival with light design, events, performances, and a temporary winter pavilion, will make an urban destination that embraces the dark winter nights for outdoor activities framed by the winter garden.
The winter pavilions will be based on inspiration and organization that are used for Serpentine pavilions in Kensington Gardens and the winter Festival in Toronto.
Autumn ambiance in the Japanese garden with exotic species, white, course gravel suitable for pattern making and framed by a dark purple cut hedge.