Location: Oslo, Norway
Developer: Aspelin Ramm Eiendom AS and Anthon B. Nilsen Eiendom AS
Designer:  LPO, Niels Torp, and Kristin Jarmund Arkitekter
Site Size: 39.537 acres

Vulkan is a fusion of culture, creative business and industry, and includes schools, hotels, Oslo’s first food hall, restaurants, apartments, offices, retail premises, arenas for dance and sports, and nightlife. A run-down industrial and warehouse area has been turned into a dynamic and inviting area that is attractive for living, working and socializing. What used to be a disregarded backyard of the city is now one of the most sought out neighborhoods for new real estate development in Oslo. The project is a full-scale example of sustainable urban development, restoration, and placemaking. Vulkan provides Oslo with 107,639.104 sq. ft. of office space, 150,694.75 sq. ft. of retail space, 80,729.33 sq. ft. of hotel development, about 12.36 acres of open public space, 150,694.75 sq. ft. of educational space, and 147 multifamily residential units. The estimated total cost of the project is $250 million.

All outdoor areas of the project are open for public use, inviting and fully accessible. The food-hall is Oslo’s first indoor public market, and has become a commercial success as well as a reference for the new “wave” of rebuilt and newly built food-markets in Europe. Approximately 1 million people visit the Mathallen market per year, or between 20,000 and 30,000 per week. These numbers have led to a boost in business for Vulkan as well as for the surrounding areas.

Based on the idea of sharing land and resources in a dense and multifunctional area, Vulkan integrates various solutions for generation and re-generation of energy for heating and cooling. The site has an integrated energy system which includes the first office building and hotel classified in “Energy class A” and the first P-House with hi-efficiency loaders for electric vehicles and an “E-Vehicle-pool”. In addition to energy efficiency and production solutions, most buildings have rooftops for recreational purposes, urban gardening and bee farming. The transformation of former industrial buildings is an outstanding example of conservation and new sustainable use of historically important buildings.