The challenge
The Software
The Redesign
The Achievements
Relying on data-driven insights to develop a more effective design outcome
How A-lab architects collaborated with forward-looking developers, Steen & Strøm and Storebrand to revolutionize the site development of Økern Sentrum—with Spacemaker.
The challenge
Redesigning a 240,000m² large project in a short timeframe
Økern Sentrum is located in the heart of Hovinbyen, one of Oslo’s fastest-growing districts. With the area set to house 100,000 inhabitants by 2030, this is one of Oslo’s most important and largest mixed-use urban development projects.
The masterplan design—which was conceived by A-lab architects—consists of housing, offices, hotels, cultural arenas, shopping streets, plazas, a subway, and more. When the municipality requested updates to the proposal, the project team had to act fast, and cross-discipline collaboration was key.
Integrating water streams
Maintaining a high standard
Protecting the revenue potential
The project team was tasked with adjusting the concept to the requirements of the planning authorities and adapting the street, plaza spaces, and building volumes to accommodate two water streams.
Integrating water streams
“When we were working with the municipality on the placement of the stream, the project group was able to incorporate the feedback, test a new design, and move forward with a decision efficiently.”
Peter Fossum, Developer at Steen & Strøm.
The Software
Using Spacemaker as a single
source of truth
To tackle the challenges and develop the masterplan, the project group has been working with the Spacemaker platform since fall 2019. In Spacemaker, the team can easily explore different ways to reposition and adapt the blocks to integrate the water through the site.
Spacemaker is a cloud-based AI software that empowers architects, developers and urban planners to assess, plan, and develop sites and create early-stage concepts faster, smarter, and more collaboratively.
Enable cross-discipline collaboration
Spacemaker allows the project team to work together from the same 3D design.
Reflect and act on data-driven insights
Explore different ideas with generative design and optimize the masterplan.
Instantly test and analyze the changes
Test regulatory requirements and analyze qualities such as wind, daylight, and noise.
“Spacemaker is a powerful tool that lets a project group drive a discussion with the facts on the table. It creates an arena for collaboration where we can identify and solve problems together.”
Peter Fossum, Developer at Steen & Strøm.
The redesign
Making the changes in
a two-day workshop
With a wide range of issues needing to be addressed, Steen & Strøm developer Peter Fossum led a two-day workshop where the project team iteratively adjusted the concept. The workshop brought together stakeholders from a broad range of disciplines including Økern Sentrum (developer and Spacemaker super-user), A-lab (architect, landscape architect and Spacemaker super-user), and Sweco (city planners, construction engineers, daylight engineers, and acousticians). Working collaboratively, the team was able to use the Spacemaker platform to design, analyze, and review various outcomes and the impact of different design decisions.
Design
Analyze
Review
Iterate
This data-driven and iterative workflow significantly sped up the decision-making process.
Together, the project group implemented design changes to align with the planning authorities’ requirements.
Design
Analyze
Review
Iterate
Looking at the single 3D plan within Spacemaker, they were able to assess the redesign and decide together what was and wasn’t working.
Design
Analyze
Review
Iterate
Reflecting on the data-driven insights, the group was able to discuss and develop more fit-for-purpose design solutions.
Design
Analyze
Review
Iterate
As a result, the team integrated the streams, optimized comfort levels in public spaces, and significantly improved the daylight and noise qualities.
Design
Analyze
Review
Iterate
“I love these workshops where we work with Spacemaker. We can adapt the project with many different parameters, such as noise and daylight, and test different hypotheses by manually changing the design, then view the results from the analysis in just a few minutes. The Spacemaker workshops have proven to be a powerful add-on to architectural masterplan development, overall improving the process and the outcome.”
Peter Fossum, Developer at Steen & Strøm
THE ACHIEVEMENTS
The results of the
Økern Sentrum project
The revised plan delivered a better outcome than anticipated, achieving a record-breaking turnaround and smooth integration of the two water streams. What’s more, the end result was greatly aligned with the general strategic approach that municipalities have started to take for urban hub developments.
Healthy urban design
Spacemaker allows the project team to work together from the same 3D design.
High-quality public spaces
Explore different ideas with generative design and optimize the masterplan.
Lively throughout the day
and all year round
Test regulatory requirements and analyze qualities such as wind, daylight, and noise.
But it went beyond box-ticking
In addition to meeting the municipality’s requests and complying with regulations, Spacemaker helped the team deliver more.
Some residential plots with closed block typologies showed challenging situations with high noise levels towards the streets, and little daylight in internal corners. The team worked iteratively to improve the daylight and noise situation, and, after hypothesis testing, decided to change the block into an open city block. As a result, the residential areas with the lowest daylight access was reduced by 51% and the noisiest residential façade areas were reduced by 10%.
More daylight, less noise
Better still, in the process of improving living qualities, they also gained more space for high-quality housing, providing up to 1,500 apartments—50% of Oslo’s annual need. When compared to the initial plans, this proposal as a whole also ended up tripling the area dedicated to public space.
More housing, more public space
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Integrating water streams
Maintaining a high standard
Protecting the revenue potential
From the beginning, the creation of high-quality architecture and public spaces had been a driving force for the design. The team needed to deliver redesigns quickly without compromising the project’s qualities or sustainability levels.
Maintaining a high standard
“Økern Sentrum is an impressive project working towards a quality-driven outcome. It 100% embodies our vision of creating better and more livable cities by using technology and data efficiently and effectively.”
Håvard Haukeland, Co-founder of Spacemaker, and Senior Director at Autodesk
Integrating water streams
Maintaining a high standard
Protecting the revenue potential
The incentives of the city were aligned with those of the developers—to ensure high-quality architecture and public spaces where business and people will thrive together. Of course, accuracy and efficiency were also integral in ensuring the project met business objectives.
Protecting the revenue potential
“In the case of Økern Sentrum, efficient project and stakeholder management is crucial in order to create living qualities that are attractive and mutually beneficial for all parties involved.”
Håvard Haukeland, Co-founder of Spacemaker, and Senior Director at Autodesk
The challenge
The software
The redesign
The achievements
Integrating water streams
Maintaining a high standard
Protecting the revenue potential
Integrating water streams
Integrating water streams
Maintaining a high standard
Protecting the revenue potential
Maintaining a high standard
Integrating water streams
Maintaining a high standard
Protecting the revenue potential
Protecting the revenue potential
Integrating water streams
Maintaining a high standard
Protecting the revenue potential
