Space Group

Lytte-/Sendesalen Gaustabanen inside out!

Ankeret hever seg i Sandnes!

Havneparken is a completely new district with a unique set of qualities that can’t be found anywhere else in Sandnes. The new housing building on the pier offers large waterfront views complemented with a more intimate and car-free urban space with streets and parks, just a stone’s throw away from Langgata and the region's largest public transport hub and city park at Ruten. The district is planned as a "complete" neighborhood with both housing, commercial spaces, services and office spaces. The district will have its own bus stop in Jernbaneveien and the buildings are designed in a way that allows as many people as possible to take advantage of sea views. Building heights are carefully adapted to avoid shadows from neighboring buildings and ensure as much sun as possible on the public and private outdoor spaces.

In the same way that the city plan facilitates for a variety of activities and experiences, 74 housing units are planned in the first construction phase. The architecture is a result of as many apartments as possible getting both panoramic views and a terraces facing the sea and filtering light into a sheltered balcony with orientation to the southwest. This is solved by the apartments being oriented approx. 45 degrees to the north-south axis and thanks to the stepping down of the building in all four directions.

The building is bounded by four different outdoor spaces. To the south, a generous park area will be established, to the east there will be a harbor promenade and the opportunity to sit by the water's edge. To the north, the building borders the district square and to the west, the Sports Square will be established, where training activities will be arranged. In the extension of Sports Square, a generous stairwell leads up to a planted common outdoor area on level 2. This will be the building's main access and provides the opportunity for social interaction between the residents.

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The sketch developed by Spacegroup for a client for a meditation temple plays with the light filtering from above into the space. The retreat is orientated towards the sky and each of the faces of the cube oriented toward a cardinal direction. A central space sheltered by a heavy frame creates an internal “womb”. Made of wood, glass and a heavy grounded stone slab, the design seeks a simple material expression.