A composition in six-part harmony

Industri Energi is a union for all workers from the Norwegian industry and energy sectors. With 56,000 members, it is impressively large. For its new office building in Stavanger, Industri Energi announced a competition calling for designs that would blend into the surrounding historical buildings and reflect the unique character of Kongsgata street. LINK Arkitektur won over the jury by combining renovated existing buildings with new additional buildings. 
 
“The client wanted a new and modern office building with more space for all employees,” explains Hanne Kruse, architect and director of LINK Arkitektur in Stavanger. “We combined old and new interiors to create efficient spaces. It was a challenge to generate a good flow and transitions between the original stock and new buildings whilst retaining the atmosphere and identity of Kongsgata.” A total of six buildings with merged interiors now encompass a gross floor area of 4300 m² to create the new workspace.

To satisfy the urban planning requirements, heritage conservation conditions and architectural standards for this modernisation project in the city centre of Stavanger, the design goes beyond an effective arrangement of the buildings with good interconnections: “The roofs of both the new and existing buildings had to be incorporated into the cityscape,” says Hanne Kruse. 
 
“In the past, hollow tiles were produced in the district, so roof tiles with a similar appearance were a natural choice for us.” The tile used was the Koramic Sinus natural+ 652. “These tiles are manufactured using the latest H-cassette technology, which makes them particularly functional and rigid whilst still having that authentic look,” says the architect. The design team also chose a clay product for the façade of the largest building. “The Actua Multiblend model was added a little later in the project and was selected due to the high ceramic quality, impressive guarantee and low price. Furthermore, this solution can be installed very quickly.”

In 2019, this exceptionally harmonious architectural concept won the Building Practice Award bestowed by the Stavanger municipality. According to the judges, the project creates space for outstanding urban living in an exemplary way. In their opinion, “the new building situated towards Bergelandsgata uses brick in a new and exciting way and forms a link between the small wooden building towards Kongsgata and the building on Bergelandsgata, which was constructed in the 90s. 
 
This architectural approach turns Kongsgata 52–60 into a groundbreaking project that demonstrates how larger companies can relocate to the inner city by using existing buildings.” The architect was also satisfied: “I think we succeeded in transforming the three old buildings and combining them with the three new ones to form a unified entity,” says Hanne Kruse. “By opening up the interior façade, we managed to interconnect the buildings while retaining respect for the city.”