Studio course

2010

Bridging the Gap: Bridge across the Drammen fjord at Svelvik
Course code	H09AS11
Department	Institute of Architecture
Professor in charge	Professor Arne Eggen
Additional staff	Assistant Professor Solveig Sandness, Knut Gjerding-Smith, Head of Department Børre Skodvin, Professor Dag Tvilde, Adjunct Professor Alf Haukeland, Architect Espen Hauglin
Prerequisities	Passed foundation level (6 semesters).
Instruction language	Norwegian and English
Max no. of students	15
ECTS credits	24

Course description

The Drammen fjord parts the peninsula of Hurum from the mainland in the west. By the village of Svelvik the fiord is narrow, only about 150 meters wide, and the crossing is today served by a small ferry. A new bridge in this area would create new possibilities, both locally and regionally. We will look into this possibility.

The students will be able to choose between two bridge tasks:

Bridge from the centre of Svelvik. This will be a low bridge with a relatively short span that will have to be possible to open, rotate or raise to let larger ships pass.
A bridge that attaches to a main road close to Svelvik, and which will have sufficient height to handle car ferries and possibly ships attending the ”Tall Ship’s Race” in Drammen.

The course is based on collaboration with the course “The Urban Territory of Oslo” by The Institute of Urbanism and Landscape. Mutual lectures will increase the students understanding of which consequences the bridge will have, locally and regionally. The cooperation will also secure the quality of the bridge position and how it adapts to the local environment and landscape. Teachers from both courses will be involved in reviews and direction in the studio.

During the first weeks of the course we will take advantage of the late summer to build bridges with about 6 meter spans in the workshop at AHO. During the first weeks it will also be time to survey the premises/site and to have some initial lectures on infrastructure, bridge constructions and landscape.

The excursion will go to Belgium/Holland.

Learning outcomes

The main task for this course is to give the students an understanding of how to adapt large constructions into city and landscape. The students will learn about different structural systems and about detailing as well the box girder as the railing. The full scale building will give knowledge about construction issues.

Contents and teaching methods

Full scale building of bridges with 6 meter span
Lectures
- Introduction lectures, urbanism/landscape
- Construction lectures by different engineers
- Inspiration lectures by Arne Eggen
Subtasks
Excursion to Belgium / Holland
Studio work, workshops, intermediate- and final reviews

Exams and assessment methods

Final assessment on basis of:

Participation in the full scale building
Participation at workshops, reviews and lectures
Studio work and delivered material for the final project (models, scale-drawings, photographs, specific studies, etc)
Presence at the public exhibition AHO Works

The course is assessed as pass/fail, subject to the Regulations for Master's degree programmes at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, § 6-14.

Literature

Mandatory reading:

Lectures

Recommended reading:

Asensio Cerver, F. (1992). New bridges. [S.l.]: Arco Editorial.

Bennett, D. (1999). The creation of bridges: from vision to reality : the ultimate challenge of architecture, design and distance. London: Aurum Press.

Billington, D. P., & Doig, J. W. (2003). The art of structural design: a Swiss legacy. Princeton, N.J.: Princenton University Art Museum.

Brindle, S. Brunel: the man who built the world: Weidenfeld & Nicoloson.

Dietrich, R. J. (2001). Faszination Brücken: Baukunst, Technik, Geschichte. München: Callwey.

Frampton, K., & Cava, J. (1995). Studies in tectonic culture: the poetics of construction in nineteenth and twentieth century architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Frampton, K., Webster, A. C., Tischhauser, A., & Calatrava, S. (1993). Calatrava bridges. Zurich: Artemis.

Grendstad, G., Schjetne, S., & Støle, A. (2004). Vakre veger: Straßenbau und Landschaftsarchitektur in Norwegen. München: Callwey.