Trondheim Crossing

Location: Trondheim, Norway
Client: Jernbaneverket, The Municipality of Trondheim, Brattørkaia AS, Trondheim Parkering KF, Trondheim Bussterminal As, Trondheim Havn, ROM eiendom AS
Team: Stig L. Andersson, Salka Kudsk, Signe Høyer Frederiksen, Michelle Nielsen-Dharmaratne, Martin Søberg, Thomas Kock, Flemming Rafn Thomsen, Christine Vad Majgaard, Signe Jul Andersen, Ditte Andresen og Suna Madsen
Collaborators: Pir II Arkitektkontor and Myklebust
Design phase: 2007-
Area: 1,7 ha.

The crossing is a central point and a short cut from Trondheim Central Station to Brattørakia and the sea. The surfacing of the bridge is blue concrete and the supporting "legs" vary in slope and breadth inviting different kinds of use. Towards the water one support is a long ramp that is suitable for rollerskating, skateboarding and cycling – the other relates to the building and leads quickly down to the square via steps. The two linear spaces weave through the legs of the bridge and provide a varied experience over the bridge.

Watch the video Let's Not Talk About Aesthetics by SLA and learn more about the project.

Water is a key element which creates atmosphere in the new urban spaces. With reference to the tide, that comes in and goes out, the squares replicate the rhythm of the sea in separate ways, but dependant of each other. When the tide is low in the fjord, water bubbles out on the station square. As an eternally oscillating image they follow the rhythm of the sea. From flood to ebb.

Towards the station you meet an urban forest, a kind of ”hyper nature”. Trimmed and groomed trees with colourful and lush magnolias and Japanese cherry create spatial variation on the square. Tall lighting columns light up and create security when darkness falls.

In the summer the trees form a dense grove of green, while autumn is illustrated by the yellow light foliage of the birch trees. In the frost of the winter the evergreen trees with precisely trimmed shapes stand sharply in the cold air and smell sweetly of resin.

The square by the water is open towards the sky and the horizon. By Brattørakia the square slopes down towards the water edge, forming a variation in the straight line of the quay. The slope will act as a measurement of the tide. At high tide the water breaches the straight edge of the quay and turns it into a miniature island landscape, where you can go down to the water. At low tide the water level is low revealing a broken landscape of steps.