Projects / Travelling     

Town centre, Geilo

Can the new pedestrian zone, with an amphitheatre and integrated carpark, revitalise the centre of a small skiing village?

Architect: Arkitektgruppen Cubus AS
Published 09 Oct, 2014
 
The amphitheatre, Geilo Station in the background.

The amphitheatre, Geilo Station in the background.

Amphitheatre.

Amphitheatre, view from Geilo railway station looking towards Geilo Centre.

Corten retaining walls.

The centre of Geilo. Street plan.

The centre of Geilo. From the competition proposal. Section through skiing bridge, not realised.

Animal tracks in the steel cover on the drainage channel in the main street; the footprints of the five main animals in the national park.

Animal tracks in steel drainage cover.

Geilo by night. LED-light stands and fittings allow a variety of lighting schemes for different events and activities throughout the winter season.

Geilo by night. Main street, with luminous “ski tracks” set in the paving.

Geilo by night. The new lighting scheme mimics the lighting on the ski slopes.

Geilo town centre and railway station, before refurbishment…

Geilo town centre after the completion of works, from the opening.

Detail section through amphitheatre and entrance to underground parking, Building A.

Plan of Geilo town centre.

Completion: 2014

Address:
Geilo sentrum, Hol

View it on the map

Photo:
Arkitektgruppen Cubus; Epic/Rune Lundsør

The new town centre area at Geilo was opened in autumn 2013. The existing town centre had lacked natural meeting points and good public spaces, and was chaotic to navigate for both visitors and local businesses. Arkitektgruppen Cubus won a competition in 2008 with a project aimed at turning Geilo into a “green skiing destination”. The two central elements of the project, the pedestrian zone and the amphitheatre, were built on top of a privately financed car park. The architects drew inspiration from the surrounding mountainous landscape, and the amphitheatre therefore has two “mountain ridges”, built with Corten steel. One of them serves as a central entrance to the car park, and the other holds a service room that can be used during large-scale events like skiing races and festivals. The granite surface of the amphitheatre floor is rough, suitable for BMX and mountain bikes.