HOVINbEKKEN: fROM PIPE TO PUbLIC
rAnDi engAn
Advisors: Alf Haukeland and giambattista Zaccariotto
In Oslo, a new paradigm of integrated planning and sustainable design has arisen with water.
A set of guiding principles has emerged in policy: reorganising the water system as visible and
integrated; reintegrating water storage; and starting bottom-up with small- and medium-sized
projects. This project focuses on the foremost challenge of the Økern area in the Hovinbekken
basin. Here main stem and tributaries have been diverted into pipes and the water is highly pol-
luted. Moreover, the area will undergo extensive spatial intensification in the coming years.
The design began with mapping the future urban plans, understanding the existing and
diverse water flows and physical carriers—pipes, ditches, mineral and vegetated open spaces,
buildings—and developing a water-spatial frame for the area that include re-opening fine-
grain water bodies. As a result, the fragmented green patches and corridors are restructured
in comprehensive, diverse forms within the urban landscape. The pressure of input output
water regulation on the central water system decreases while resilience increases.
MASter of LAnDScAPe ArcHitecture
