Parallel commission
2019
In the fall of 2019 Resell+Nicca was invited to participate in a parallel commission for a new building on the waterfront in central Haugesund along with three other teams. The building were to contain cultural and educational facilities in addition to offices and retail.
At the heart of the site sat the remains of one of the oldest boathouses in Haugesund - dating back to approximately 1850. A building that has been transformed many times over the years, but that has kept large parts of its original front facade, and its unique position - stepped out in front of the rest of the houses along the canal - a feature that dates back to the citys origin, when the seashore did a turn in this area.
According to the rules for the competition it was up to the teams if they wanted to propose demolition or conservation of the boathouse, and we decided early on that preservation was going to be a key element of our project.
None of the original interior structures of the boathouse remain, and in accordance with the wishes of the citys conservation authority we therefore developed a concept where the buildings exterior were to be kept and reversed to its original state, while the interior components would be replaced with new structures and a different spatial layout - a layout where the inside volume of the boathouse were to form one large coherent space, made possible by new timber structures of glulam beams and columns.
A multipurpose auditorium with associated rooms is placed as a box at the heart of the volume, while public functions such as foyer and cafe operate in the open layer between the box and the outer walls of the boathouse. Group- and meeting rooms are placed on top of the box, with views towards the public areas, and direct access from en elevated part of the city behind the building.