Dufour . Saintonge

Europan 11 .  Norrköping

courtesy of Pierre Dufour & Emma Saintonge 

The first feeling  when looking at the project site is a sense of sudden break due to the presence of  Gamla Övagen Road  which acts in fact as a strong physical and mental barrier between the Vilbergen district and Reserve Vrinnevi.
Besides, the site seems disconnected from the city because of a lack of public transport on the one hand and to the low attractiveness of this area  for   the city on the other hand.  Apart from the hospital  on the Vrinnevi side,  there is in fact only one local network on the project site.
Finally, the southern entrance to the town is not built,  the transition from rural to urban is not really clear. The road and the landscape around it must symbolyse Norrkoping  from this entrance.

POTENTIAL

The high quality of the site comes from the fact that it is close to Vrinnevi nature reserve, both from the landscape point of view and for the potential uses (hiking, recreation, relaxation ...) it offers.
We also identify a 12.1 ha building land, once the zones situated just off the road and the residual spaces have been removed. This represents a high potential for an increasing concentration of the population on this high quality site.
There is also an opportunity to fully and strongly express the relationship between city and nature by constructing the limit, and providing an exemplary approach to sustainable development.
Finally the presence of important facilities - the hospital - is a decisive argument for the extension of the tramline to the south. We think the tram should pass through the non-built land to justify its urbanization.

> METHOD
We have chosen not to use the plan to avoid the pitfalls of large geometries and break with the principles of the 19th and 20th centuries composition, which places the planner as a "composer of the large scale" to the detriment of human practices.
We have chosen to consider things from the landscape and conceptual scale interconnection logic, knowing that the landscape is always seen at eye level

> CONNECTIVITY – THEMES

1 Erase by Amplifying

Clear the way - the barrier, is a first step to erase its borders / edges (ditches, materials, relief, slopes ...) and integrate neighbouring contexts by assembling them according to the specific situations. It means blotting out the traditional image of the road.
That is why we propose to expand the road, or rather to open the space it takes up, by integrating its identity, its materiality to the surrounding contexts.
Working on the imagery of the road and its materiality is one way of linking the city to nature through the soil.

2 Active connectivity, connecting thanks to uses and programs

By active connectivity we mean a connection based on uses and social activities. Activities should not be sectored but must cross, mix, hybridize.
To renew the offer in terms of programs and attractiveness of the site, it is useful to consider two programmatic scales :
- The introduction of local programs within the proposed new area, only concerns its own balance and does not jeopardize the proper functioning of existing programs in the Vilbergen district.
- The introduction of large-scale programs such as the hospital is an additional layer (cultural, event, leisure ...) and helps to strengthen the attractiveness of the whole Vilbergen Vrinnevi area .

3 Sense of community, the role of symbolic

To create a feeling of belonging to Vilbergen within the district planned, it seems interesting to establish an intellectual connection, based on the specific orthogonal composition of Vilbergen plan. At the same time, we have showcased the "destruction" of this composition by deforming the rigid foundations of the buildings (see method).
In order to create a sense of belonging to Vilbergen while being on the other side, we have also symbolically brought the tram to Vrinnevi side. At the meeting point between the nature reserve and the road that overlooks it, a tram station serves the entire new area and links it symbolically to Vilbergen and the city.
Symbolism is an absolute necessity in order to build a common identity beyond the physical boundaries.

4 Connectivity through mobility

Connectivity will inevitably include the notions of mobility and crossing.
The tram connects the site to the city and cross Gamla Övagen to reach the hospital. The stations are placed at key points coupled with programmatic peaks (see ptogrammatic diagram)
- Center of Vilbergen with its activities
- Meeting between the natural area and the tower (01 Vrinneni Fjärdär)
- Entrance to the town including the hospital (04 City Entrance)
The general principle regarding mobility is to erase the boundaries between users, combining soft mobility (non-motorized forms of transportation) and heavy car traffic. Creating a path overlooking 6m allows pedestrians and cyclists to travel in better conditions, accompanying “the road show."
We have chosen to keep and strengthen the two existing crossings rather than multiplying these complex and costly situations. They coincide with the programmatic peaks : one located at the entrance to town and the hospital, the other at the tower and the Vrinnevi nature reserve.

5 Stand at eye level: soil and landscape

It is necessary to stand at eye level to focus on the real and visible. Constructing landscape and spatial situations in this state of mind is a prerequisite for the conception of a habitable and enjoyable place.
At eye level, the soil has a core value: it is the base of customs, practices, transport. We want the land to be developed as a vast practical architecture, a continuous and isotropic ground.
If the soil is basically the continuous surface of the earth, the sky is its "ceiling". The staging of the sky and the void by the framing, the perspective ... is the means to establish optical connections.