Klaksvík City Center Entry by Kubota & Bachmann

In our last post, we published Henning Larsen Architects' winning competition entry for the city center redevelopment in Klaksvík, the second-largest city in the Faroe Islands. This post now features the urban design submission of Swiss practice Kubota & Bachmann Architects.

Project Description from the Architects:

1. Introduction

• Klaksvík today is more about cars than people.
• Life in Klaksvík is dominated by the weather - especially the wind.
• Going by car the distance is very different from walking the distance.
• The cars enable people to travel fast and easy, but does not make people meet.
• We believe that for having a city or a town for people the distances are the key.
• We propose tools of building a denser urban environment that will give short distances - walking distances, that we believe is the human scale.

2. Typology

• Bus line
• Bicycle lane
• Promenade for walking
• Meeting places
• Bridge connexions
• Square and buildings

3. Vision

The first step towards future Klasvík is a central situated square referring to the former landscape (the beach) in formations of the ancient building material the stone and the new industrial history - the beginning of Klaksvík - the stone pavements for drying fish - «Fiskastykki».

The new Klaksvík will meet in a environment describing the essence of Klaksvík with the new layer of today´s life in an urban space for people to meet, engage and live modern life.

The core of the intent is an outdoor space for everyone to meet in.

Around the this space - the square - there are protective walls against the harsh wind.

The walls consist of buildings, a green house and a windscreen.

The buildings are surrounded by a green recreational area and a marina with promenade decks.

On one side of the square, there is housing and shopping and on the other side there is culture,hotels and administration.

Leading to this meeting place is a local bus line, the country bus line, and the helicopter and the ships going to the north islands.

The Square is connecting to the surrounding by a footbridge and paths to and from the area and a lead to the parking beneath the square.

The square it self is a interpretation of the landscape before by tilting down to the sea as the beach before.

The square is a stone pavement in coarse stone resembling the old manmade and hand built stone pavements - «Fiskastykki».

This new space in an urban context with a feel the human scale in its size and reference will be inhabited by people meeting going from place to place, from building to building, from children playing on the «beach» and on the square, from people having coffee out side, reading in front of the library in the sun, playing music at festivals, out door film evenings , boat race, gymnastics and people meeting for a coffee after a promenade.

Project Details:

Project Name: Klaksvík City Center
City and Country: Klaksvík, Faroe island
Client: Klaksvík Town Municipality
Type of Competition: Open International Competition
Program: Apartement, Commerce, Administration office, Tourist information office, Hotel, Library, Sailing sea museum, culture house, bus terminal, versailles orangerie concept glass house, parking and public square
Site Area: Competition Study Area : 7.6 ha
Status: Competition Entry

Project Credits:

Designer: Toshihiro KUBOTA, Yves BACHMANN
Advasar: Michel CALZADA
Landscape Architect: Bassinet Turquin Paysage
Environmental Engineer: Oyvind Vessia
Architect: Mara Papavasiliou, Pierre VOIRIN, Meduna DALSGAARD, Robert WAAGSTEIN, Katherine KOVALCIK
Perspective: Michael GLOUDEMAN