MUSIC FOR STAIRWELLS

An old favourite of mine: "Hard Knock Life" from the 1982 film "Annie", based on the musical by the same name. I don't know if these are just sets or if the building is real, but those girls sure can sing and dance! Best movie choreography of all time.

SAMUEL LIMA AND THE MONUMENTAL RAMPS

I've been interested in the combination of stairs and ramps for quite a while now. In an earlier post (Fun fact: My second most popular post of all time, with 2192 individual views) I described and showed a design where a ramp was transplanted into a flight of stairs next to a very small park in Oslo. I've employed the same technique in a public space project at school, but I also find other solutions to be interesting.

By mere coincindence, I found the blog of architect (student?) Samuel Lima from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. A talented drawing artist and designer, all his work has a very classical look, including this project for a new "National Museum of Science and Technology" for a site in Washington DC.

What is less traditional, however, is the incorporation of two huge, symmetrically placed ramps on the main facade. They seem to be made out the same material as the rest of the building, and follow the rhythm of the architecture in a way that actually seems to work very well. I don't know if there were any precedents, or if he just pulled this out of his sleeve. He definitely solves the problem in an interesting manner, but I do that wish people who sit in wheelchairs or for other reasons need to use the ramps, could join the other guys in hanging out in what is sure to be a very friendly and informal space on and around the landing in the middle of the stairs.

A cool feature in the plan is how the use of colour signals a transition from pavement, in a sandstone-like tone, towards the building itself, in white, perhaps illustrating the change from very public to slightly less public, or how a ramp can feel like a street and a part of building at the same time.

Another question this project raises, is whether we actually need to build entrances and stairs like these. Lima wrote in an email to me: "During the design critique, the accessibility of both my design as well as well as my classmates' designs was a hot topic. The jurors debated whether or not monumental stairs have a place even in the most monumental buildings."

Some people seem to think of these sort of stairs as nice and a bit out of the ordinary places to sit down and meet others, while other people may think they are just an expression of power. (I'm in the first group, but I think many of my teachers at BAS are in the second.) They also take up a lot valuable space in the city, which has to be justified in one way or another. However, if we do need them, I think it's very appropriate to incorporate ramps as well, as a part of universal design, although that takes up even more space. What do you think?

LEAVING MR. ARNEBERG

Glowing in the afternoon sun of early summer lies the Telegraph Building in downtown Oslo, designed by the amazing architect Arnstein Arneberg and completed in 1922. Arneberg is especially known for using excellent craftsmen and employing long-lasting materials and great detailing, with this building being no exception. Built in a Nordic New Baroque style, with a granite facade of elaborate detail, an internal staircase of Norwegian marble and amazing metalwork, the Telegraph Building is an architectural gem that will brighten up the day for anyone who bothers to stop and have a look at it as they walk through the old neighbourhoods downtown.

As it so happens, this has also been the view from my office desk (I actually took this picture sitting in my chair looking out) for several months. I've had the privilege of working full-time as a volunteer for Skeiv ungdom/Queer Youth Norway, being a part of an amazing project about religion and homosexuality. I know what made the biggest impressions on me was everything we did in Africa, but I'll always remember this view and the people I shared it with as well. Thank you.

THE HEADMISTRESS' SONG

Young Dreams from Young Dreams on Vimeo.

This weekend, I attended a seminar arranged by my alma mater, Bergen School of Architecture. The topic was the architect education of the future, and loads of interesting questions were raised. One of the moments I'll remember the best, however, was the opening, where our headmistress (principal/rector/leader whatever you prefer) Marianne Skjulhaug played this very cool and aesthetically pleasing music video from the band called Young Dreams.

The video was taped in a house called Planetveien 12, built by the great Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo for himself and his wife, the artist Grete Prytz Kittelsen. Architect  Ragnhild Jordtveit Kristiansen, who writes the blog "Mine venners hjem" says in her blog post about the house that "Planetveien is a dream of glass, concrete and teak, with specially designed and built-in furniture and surprising and original solutions". Read the blog post and watch the video (in full screen).

THE ANT, THE ROCK AND THE KING

While I was sitting and reading the newspaper at sunset today, I befriended an ant. The ant lived in a rock in the middle of the city. Do you see the ant? (Click on the picture to see a bigger version.)

There are a few steps in the rock. The ant is very small, but he's still able to climb them; maybe because he has six legs.

The rock stands here, in the middle of a big pile of gravel. I wonder how the ant got there in the first place, and if he ever will leave it. Amazing, really; it seems life is everywhere. On the top of the rock is a king and his horse, but they're both made of bronze, so I don't think they bother the ant very much.

THE GRUMPIEST ELF

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Taken in my parents' garden (designed by yours truly) with a self timer this afternoon.

INFERIOR

Julie: Hanging out in the stairs. Supposedly very New York-ish.

Kristian: Stairs that aren't fit for hanging out, are clearly inferior.

Picture taken in NY by my friend Julie Lødrup, on the right. I'm not quite sure who the two other girls are, but they seem nice, too. Julie also has an excellent political blog, called Julie and the City Council. Check it out if you understand Norwegian!

GRAY DAY

I can't believe the month that just passed was May, and not October. Today is another gray, cold day in Bergen.