Making internationality visible

One of the key factors that define Oslo’s urban landscape is its dense city fabric. The landscape architects of the Tøyen square, east of the city centre of Oslo, decided to go a different route by giving the area that is known for its inhabitants’ multicultural background a way to
reflect their diversity.

Patterns create comfort

The view from the top of the square gives the feeling of a big inviting living room with a colourful carpet at its centre. This was created by the patterns in which the clay pavers were laid throughout the square.

Not only different colours but also different setting techniques were used, giving it an atmosphere that is as diverse and unique as the people who use the space and thereby make it their own. A total of eight different clay paving bricks were used, six of these for creating the three “carpets” and two others for the surrounding area.

First choice: brick

Identifying brick as their choice was an easy one from the architect’s perspective: “One reason is that there is already a lot of brick in Tøyen. The other is that the construction meant that we needed a product that was very flexible.

We didn’t have a lot of build-ups to do because of the garage construction underneath, so we had to find a very flexible product. Brick is very practical for creating functional solutions that are customised to the site,” explains Bente Nesheim, the landscape architect at Grindaker has expertise in the design of urban spaces.

A space of colourful contrasts

As we know, when it comes to public procurement, an architect’s choice is not the only thing that needs to be taken into consideration. “You have to be true to your concept and stick with it a bit, but we got it done in the end. The solution the architects wanted is the one that is located at Tøyen Torg today,” Nesheim confirms. “Once we knew which product formats we wanted, we found that wienerberger had a wide range to choose from. It was supposed to be a very colourful layout and something completely different from the grey floors that are used in many locations in Oslo.

For us landscape architects, it is unusual to be able to play around with colour so much. I think brick is a fantastic product! I have tried to have brick laid in several of the spaces that we create,” Nesheim went on. “As a material it adds a lot to the experience of the outdoor space. It gives a warmer expression and a nice contrast to asphalt roads, concrete and other hard grey surfaces in the city layout. And there are so many more options with clay pavers!” she describes enthusiastically.