Kanka . Urbanova

The Geiranger Hug Promenade . Bergen

design team: Boris Kanka . Vendula Urbanova . + 120 HOURS competition

The design is based on a minimum damage, maximum effect approach. The idea is to create a pier that would connect the area where the cruise ships can anchor with the village so no additional shuttle transport is necessary.

The end of the fjord is strengthened by the simple shape of a semicircle. The ends of this semicircle are then stretched to create suitable positions to anchor the cruise ships. The centre of the semicircle is reserved as a turning basin.
Parts of the pier closer to the shore are destined as anchor places for smaller ships, with 3 main functions: local ships, tounst ships, and service ships. Service ships could provide all the necessary functions (cafe, kayak rental toilets, restaurant, tourist shop, tourist information, seafood store, local cheese store accommodation, etc.) during high season, but would'nt create vacant ghost buildings during the winter, since they could return, where they came from. This way there wouldn't be one large "closed tor season" sign. The pier could easily accommodate other functions as well like a morning run, romantic afternoon walk or for example midnight fishing.
The pier is designed as a Floating pontoon, which consists of HO prefabricated segments with a total length of approximately 1.4 Km. Such a construction and construction method ensures minimal harm to the site since works on the site are reduced to a minimum. Such a structure may appear very strong in the plan, but all the same time is very subtle in the elevation. Another important issue are running cost and energy consumption, which both are in this case reduced to an absolute minimum.