Should it be allowed to build higher in Oslo than today? The question has ignited the debate, and there is considerable disagreement.
That is why Nettavisen has asked people in the capital if they want more high-rise buildings, and the feedback to the politicians is clear:
- 48.9 percent are negative.
- 32.9 percent are positive.
- 18.2 percent do not know.
The Oslo City Council will allow that it is built higher, and is now working on a new high-rise strategy for Oslo. There are few parties that have expressed criticism of the plan, with the exception of Rødt.
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Want 125 meters
In the high-rise plan that was out for consultation last year, the Planning and Building Agency (PBE) proposes that buildings of up to 125 meters must be allowed around Oslo S. In addition, the plan defines 13 areas where high-rise buildings of 70 meters can be considered.
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See an overview of the high-rise areas further down in the case.
Today, Oslo Plaza is the city’s tallest building, towering 117 meters above the ground. The building was approved before the current 42-metre limit for new buildings was adopted by Oslo City Council in 2005.
The question: The Planning and Building Agency will allow high-rise buildings up to 125 meters around Oslo S, and up to 70 meters in other areas. What is your position on this?
| Mann | Woman | Total | |
| Positive | 46,3 % | 19,8 % | 32,9 % |
| Negative | 37,2 % | 60,4 % | 48,9 % |
| Do not know | 16,5 % | 19,8 % | 18,2 % |
In the survey carried out by InFact, 1,000 people were asked. It was recorded on 24 January with automated telephone interviews, and the margin of error is between +/- 0.5 – 2.9 per cent.
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– It should be banned
One of those who have come out strongly against the high-rise plan is architect Erik Collett. He is not surprised by the results of the survey.
– It is certainly not surprising that many are negative. But I thought there would have been even more, since in the input that has come in during the consultation period, there is almost only opposition to high-rise buildings, says Colett to Nettavisen.
He himself doesn’t have much left for those who want to build higher.
– It is alienating and has much more negative than positive aspects. Some people think it’s cool, while most people think it’s disturbing and a type of building that stands out from the context and the rest of the building, Collett points out.
The architect believes that high-rise buildings should simply be banned.
– I go so far as to say that there should be a Nordic ban on high-rise buildings, because here in our latitudes it does not fit because the sun is low in the sky and because we have a more humanistic society – and there are no high-rise buildings which gives an answer to that, he says.
Collett advises the politicians to make arrangements for building on a more moderate scale.
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– It is a myth
It is clear that most women are negative about high-rise buildings. 60 percent of the women who responded to the survey, and 40 percent of the men, are negative. There are more than twice as many men as women who are positive, 45 per cent against 20 per cent.
– Women perhaps represent more humane values than men do. Men may see more of a business idea, and what I believe is a myth, that you achieve higher density with high-rise buildings, says Collett, adding:
– Because you can manage just as much high density by building homogeneously and densely.
If you look at where you live in Oslo, those who live in the center of Oslo west of Akerselva are most positive about building high (42.6 per cent). The most negative are those who live on the west side of Oslo, where a full 59.6 per cent are negative.
– Do not cast shadows
The survey also shows that opposition is greatest among those who vote Red (62.5 per cent), the People’s Party (57.1 per cent) and the Labor Party (49.6 per cent). The least negative are the MDG and KrF voters (40 per cent).
– Red has not adopted a policy on high-rise buildings. We believe that there are certain areas that should be protected, such as Oslo S and the area around Greenland. Then there are other areas that are more appropriate, says city council politician Sofie Rana (R) to Nettavisen.
Rana believes it is important that high-rise buildings fit naturally into their surroundings, and do not condense and shade other buildings.
– I think high-rise buildings are cool, but there are many considerations that must be taken into account. If our local team is against it, we will follow it, she says.
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– I think the resistance is increasing
And the older you get, the more negative you are towards high-rise buildings. In the group over 65 years of age, fully 75 percent answer that they are negative. While those between the ages of 30 and 44 are most in favor of the tall buildings.
Collett nevertheless believes that the attitudes of young people will change.
– I think there will be a shift there, that the younger people also increasingly have the understanding of having a homogenous settlement. We also see that at the Norwegian Academy of Architecture. There is very little interest in these prestigious, design-oriented signal buildings, says the architect.
– Recycling is on the rise. A lot of resources are put in to gain an understanding from climate and energy considerations, he says.
The high-rise areas
The areas proposed to be included in the high-rise plan are: Storo, Økern, Helsfyr, Ensjø, Oslo S (Bjørvika, Bispevika and Vaterland), Sentrum nord (the section along Ring 1 between Vaterland and Holbergs plass), Lysaker, Skøyen, Majorstuen, Nydalen, Forskningsparken , Bryn and Filipstad.
– Becomes a symbol of power
Nettavisen has written about several of the high-rise plans recently. Among other things, Sparebank1 has launched two projects where they want to build a record high in Oslo.
One of the high-rise buildings the bank wants to build on Skøyen in the west of Oslo, a building of 127 metres. The second high-rise building is planned in Storgata, with a height of 114 metres.
– It has been and often is a symbol of power with high-rise buildings, and large companies such as Sparebank1’s project, that is clearly where the symbol of power lies in the project. They want as many square meters as possible on the floors, and then you get mastodons and some huge lumps of some high-rise buildings. The city council’s strategy has not taken that into account, believes Collett.
Sparebank1 himself said this about the high-rise debate that raged before Christmas:
– That a new proposal for a high-rise strategy creates some debate is neither new nor surprising, said head of property in Sparebank1 Forsikring, Petter Haugen, to Nettavisen.
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He said that how tall the buildings will eventually be depends on Oslo municipality’s further process.
– In the high-rise building study, the clearest prerequisite for high-rise buildings to be permitted is that the project gives much more back to the city than it takes. We completely agree with that, and we believe that these two projects clearly do that, said Haugen.
The high-rise plan will now undergo political consideration, before it is finally adopted by the Oslo city council.
