Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), working with local firm A_Lab, has won an architecture competition to design two stations for a new metro line planned for Oslo, Norway. Construction on the line is due to begin in 2020 and the stations are expected to be completed by 2025.
Once complete, the 8 km (5 mile)-long Fornebubanen line will connect central Oslo with a community on the nearby Fornebu peninsula that's being developed on the site of a decommissioned airport. It will include a total of six new stations in all, though ZHA is responsible for just two: the Fornbuporten and Fornebu Senter stations.
The Fornbuporten station (above) will be defined by two large decorative entrances. The north entrance will take the shape of a modest glazed oval, while the south entrance has bright colors and a jarring angular form. Below ground, the station will be illuminated with atmospheric lighting that changes to indicate the light outside at different times of the day.
The Fornebu Senter station (below) has a totally different (and in our eyes, more appealing) design. This one is inspired by Norway's rugged landscape and has a large raised walkway. Two public plazas connect to the station's pair of entrances to provide meeting spaces for travelers. The underground station doesn't appear to feature the novel lighting of the Fornbuporten station.
"Inspired by Norway's mountainous landscapes and fjords that have been eroded over millennia, the Fornebu Senter station's design carves canyons and spaces for the flow of people," says ZHA. "Echoing this concept of re-imagined glacial landscapes, public plazas at street level transform fluidly into entrances at either end of the station, becoming meeting places for their new community with a distinct architectural identity."
Source: ZHA