SKi torg
Competition - SKI kommune - 2019- with De Gayardon Bureau
about
“Cultures and climates differ all over the world, but people are the same. They will gather in public if you give them a good place to do it.” Jan Gehl
Our proposal for Ski Torget is not a torg, it’s a forest, a slice of wilderness ( re ) introduced into the centre of Ski. It is a new living green body to counterbalance the mass of hard surfaces already present and to grow symbiotically with Ski as it enters a new phase of heavy development. Nature as a central actor not as a passive bystander.
Ski’s development is intrinsically linked to transport , from its very beginning as a lone train station to now, where transport is again spurring on development to an even greater extent. Before the train station was built Ski did not exist, it was a clearing between farms. From that, a town has developed and grown over 140 years. This development focused on buildings and roads, the lifeblood of a new town, however nature, maybe taken for granted, was excluded from this development. This has resulted in Ski being dominated by hard grey surfaces, any vegetation is either purely aesthetic or condemned to the background. For Ski to grow and offer a full urban experience to the people who live there and who will move there this needs to change!
Our proposal is made up of 3 primary elements. The most important and central is the dense and lush forest, the Green Heart. This is surrounded by a Crown of public spaces, tailored to the programs and places around the edges of the torg. The third is a series of objects placed throughout the area facilitating connection across the square, accommodating cultural events and ensuring people can use the space for a wide array of activities.
Our proposal elevates nature to the level of public space while equipping it with the necessary tools to tackle the very real and physical challenges Ski will face as it grows.
