Sankt Olavs Plass Analysis_Urban Preservation_Spring2020

INTRODUCTION
1800
«As the Holiness whose name was given to this
place, let me give you the basics of Sankt Olavs
Plass’s founding...
1841
1859
1939
1838
1850
1870
1890
1900
1950
Since the end of the 20th century, the dominating urban philosophy has
been to give the street back to pedestrians and also to reveal the city’s
heritage. In 2001, the Oslo Council held a competition to renew Sankt
Olavs Plass. The winners, ACK architects, proposed a shared space, unregulated
for cars to reduce traffic. This relates to much earlier origins for
Sankt Olavs Plass’ planning…
The Oslo Linstow’s Plan
In 1838, Linstow proposed a plan to connect the royal palace to the city.
The plan follows a Baroque urban design with the palace as a central
point. Within this St Olav’s gate forms a major diagonal axis leading from
the palace towards Hammersborg heights. The construction of the street
between the royal palace and Pilestredet Gate in 1841, was the first step of
this axis’s development.
Georg Andreas Bull’s regulation plan for extension
In 1859, City Planner Georg Andreas Bull designed the star shaped plan
of St Olavs Plass, a reference to similar large-scale plans such as the “Place
de la Nation” in Paris. The surrounding neighbourhoods were organised
around the star’s branches. Construction work started in 1862 and Sankt
Olavs Gate was continued to St Olav’s Church.
From 1870 the area was parcelled up and sold to private owners from
the Middle Classes. Most of the plots were sold to Olaus Johnsen who
then sold and rented the properties. Later in 1890 the plots near Ullevålsveien
were divided between the diocese and the state.
The Modernist period
In 1939, a new Apartment block was designed by architects Jarle Berg and
Antti Norrgren. This construction symbolizes the start of a functionalist
metamorphosis of Sankt Olavs Plass. These new buildings introduced
new principles from the modernist approach of
Architecture, where buildings are first
and foremost defined by their
purpose with less focus on
ornamentation. Typically white
simple façades are characteristic of
the Functionalist Movement.
2020
2000
2001