As the Central Park in New York was built before the Manhattan grid was condensed around it – RUTEN has remained as a buffer in the urban development in anticipation of something bigger.

Courtesy Space Group / Superunion

Sandnes' historic center was a small-scaled urban structure with the country’s longest shopping street. The new district by the waterfront has another dimension – scaled up to the old industrial structures on site.

Courtesy Space Group / Superunion

By overlapping two adjacent contexts, the new RUTEN can be adapted to both.

Our proposal for RUTEN reflects the city’s development and establishes RUTEN as a natural center and Sandnes as a future city with strong roots and a proud local history.

Courtesy Space Group / Superunion

Courtesy Space Group / Superunion

The ring connects and creates the new transport hub and public space below an attractive unifying roof.

RUTEN will be the new CENTRAL PARK – Identity creator and pivot point.

Courtesy Space Group / Superunion

Courtesy Space Group / Superunion

The strategy is to combine:

• A large urban park! – For coming growth and for the big occasions.
• A grid of possibilities – a smaller subdivision of dedicated spaces with intimacy and diversity of activities.

The urban park balances all occasions; Intimate _ Open, Specific_ Flexible, Small scale_big scale.

It allows for the representative and planned, as well as encourages the spontaneous, informal and unexpected.

Courtesy Space Group / Superunion

+ Credits:

Space Group:
http://www.spacegroup.no
Gary Bates, Gro Bonesmo, Adam Kurdahl, Fredrik Krogeide, Naofumi Namba, Jose Hernandez, Anna Nilsson

Superunion Architects:
http://www.superunion.no/
Johanne Borthne, Vilhelm Christensen

Landscape: Inside Outside/Petra Blaisse
Structural engineering: Dipl ing. Florian Kosche
Sustainability: Atelier Ten
Traffic: Plan Urban
Curator: Anne Beate Hovind
Lighting: Ljusarkitektur
Visualization: Weiss Images