One of the things I had highlighted in the last piece about the Norwegian capital was the (at least partial) popular resentment towards the barcode project.
In fact, summing up the complexity of the situation with these simple words is a bit too easy. The old saying that “simple answers to complex problems are most likely wrong” it’s my mantra. That’s why I want to try to explore this topic and make it a little clearer for everyone.
Once upon a time…
A few years ago, it was 2007 I think, according to a poll of the Aftenposten newspaper, about 70% of the population of Oslo was not in favor of the project. Approximately 30,000 signatures were also collected to block the process that would lead to the construction of the new area.
Today, according to the Aftenposten, it seems that about 50% of those interviewed look favorably at the new area that lies west of the center of Oslo. Precisely for this reason, someone has gone so far as to say that what has happened is that an architecturally provocative project, at least for the traditional standards of the Norwegian capital, has been somehow “digested” and understood, to the point that now is accepted.
The analysis that you can read here is interesting and I do not doubt that there is truth in the fact that new projects are generally accepted with difficulty. At the same time, however, reducing all criticism to the inability to appreciate the most provocative innovations, as if Oslo were full of bourgeois reactionaries who oppose anything new, seems to be unfair to all those who have raised more than legitimate doubts.
In this article, all doubts are listed quite accurately. The criticisms are addressing two aspects of the barcode project.
Criticism
The first series of criticisms concerns the architectural point of view. The glance offered by the barcode is in fact in stark contrast to the city of Oslo and the surrounding landscape. Arriving from the coast, Oslo has always presented itself as a city of low houses, open, with lots of green areas both inside and around the city itself. From the low hills around the center it has always been possible to see the bay of Oslo, precisely because the buildings do not block the view.
The barcode project breaks with this tradition and creates a “barrier” of skyscrapers that obstruct the view to and from the bay. Moreover, in a country as far north, the problem of exposure to sunlight is not of secondary importance and having a skyscraper as a neighbor, will certainly not help.
Criticism 2nd part
The second series of criticisms concerns the social/cultural fabric of the city and what the barcode says about it. Also in the article above, the architect Peter St. John called the project “vulgar” and was amazed that a rich nation such as Norway could conceive of such a thing.
I too would have located a bold and “aggressive” project like the barcode in many other European cities but not in Oslo, which has made sobriety, simplicity, and humility trademark features. These are the characteristics that make the city one of the most livable capital, in my opinion, comparable only perhaps to the Canadian Ottawa.
In fact, the formula where expensive apartments are created on the upper floors of a skyscraper, for the few who can afford it, and then commercial spaces and offices are created on the middle and low floors, without creating places of aggregation or public spaces, is a way of building old and short-sighted, a formula that can seduce the eye but leaves the heart cold. Because in the end, Oslo suffers from the usual problems that have all capitals have: lack of housing, high cost of apartments (and of life), progressive reduction of public spaces, including especially green areas.
Where are we heading? It was better when things were worse man
Seen in this perspective, in which direction is the barcode project going? It will help the weakest or enriches the usual? Is this really the future? (In fact, I realize that in my point of view architecture must also have a social function, a point of departure on which not many architects will agree). The simple contrast with the Opera House in Oslo, a project that makes the usability of all its spaces by the public its winning card, is enough to be able to say that it has done something nice and useful? Even Oslo has fallen prey to ostentation fever similar to Dubai?
In any case, meditate and before drawing apocalyptic conclusions is better to wait for the completion of the project. For now, let’s enjoy this view.
If you want to know something more about the Oslo, the Norwegian capital, you can click here.
Or maybe you are tired of the north and I give you 5 reasons to travel to the Caucasus
Or to South America… is Colombia dangerous? and is Bogotà dagerous?
