Lokomotivstallen

Various Architects has renovated a historical office building in Lodalen, Oslo, creating various wooden boxes that intrude into the original brick facade.

Various Architects was engaged to renovate a historical building in Lodalen, Oslo. The building is located on the east side of the city centre in a locomotive industrial zone. The existing building has distinctive proportions, 205 meters long and 7 meters wide. The idea for the project was to combine historical restoration with a contemporary office space. The design strategy allowed the project to raise the qualities of each area considering building’s peculiar dimensions.

The design concept was to create various wooden boxes that intrude into the original brick facade, in order to break the narrow monotony of the building and provide wider spaces for the users. These boxes have different sizes and heights to accommodate a variety of functions, each with a glass wall facing south to allow maximum daylight. A new elevator tower connecting all the floors was created in order to establish universal accessibility. The tower cladded with brick, identical to the original building, establishes a new landmark, with a trademark railway clock on top.