The Great Hall
The Great Hall of Vardø
HØSTEN 2022
Denne oppgaven var et samarbeid mellom Amanda Wadman, Vilius Jokubaitis og meg selv. Semesteret hadde et stort fokus på klima og bærekraft. Scenarioet for oppgaven var Vardø i år 2100.
THE GREAT HALL
A table is a place for meetings. It is a location where stories get told and decisions get made. From the ages of old, humanity tended to gather around food. From lowly hunter-gatherers to powerful kings and queens, we all have sown the seed of change over a table.
Vardø is a city in the Arctic region of Norway. It is a place where community reigns supreme and nature becomes the deity that dictates the ways of life for its inhabitants. As the climate crisis changes the world, Vardø will not remain the idyllic place at the edge of the world. In 2100 it will see a massive boom in the fishing industry, which will be caused by the cod migrating to the Northern latitudes. It will become a place for climate refugees and travelers who are seeking the last cold breeze in the warming globe. This will result in a multicultural phenomenon. Vardø would become a melting pot of cultures and ideas. It is here that the future of the city and the entire North would be decided. We pay great emphasis on developing a tightly knit community that can define the world they want to live in. And there is no place better to share stories and ideas than over a table full of both strangers and friends.
The Great hall is defined by the idea of a single long table, which becomes the heart of the entire concept.
We drew inspiration from ancient buildings at Folkemuseet and the idea of a Langhus. It is a space holding a sacred undertone, a place where the notion of conversation defines the space itself. This is the spirit of the great hall. The program is defined by two functions: meeting and sleeping. Thus, the geometry is formed by two intersecting volumes. We sought to create a contrasting space to the Landscape Hotel, which will be constructed in the near future. Instead of a Michelin level of service, we sought to define the minimal requirements for spending the evening or the night in Vardø. We envisioned a structure that would channel the unique sense of community that is present in Vardø.
As the climate in the world continues to change, we will face more and more issues in the future. Thus we, the inhabitants of places, must gather and unite over a dinner table to make sure that there will be a better future and a better tomorrow. Our program takes into consideration the elements that will not change with the climate: the sun and the need for human connection. With light, we animate an atmosphere in the Great Hall that will change according to the time of day, from the first light in spring to the midnight sun in summer.
Text by Vilius
Drawings by Amanda
Drawings by Amanda
Drawings by Amanda
Drawings by Amanda
Drawings by Amanda
Drawings by Amanda