Sørhauggata Student Housing

An exercise in rationality

We teamed up with iTre for this project, which was commissioned by the Stord/Haugesund student council. The challenge was to make room for as many studio apartments as possible within a tight budget.

Location Haugesund, Norway

Client Student Welfare Organization of Stord/Haugesund

Status Completed (2015)

Typology Housing

Area 1 960 m2

We chose massive timber as the main construction material, proving that using timber instead of concrete and steel doesn’t have to result in increased costs. As in most of our projects, we wanted to showcase the beauty and tactility of the wooden construction. Therefore, the interior massive wooden panels are exposed to the degree that fire regulations would allow.

A major goal for the project was that the building should meet the Passive House standards for sustainability – it actually exceeds expectations in this regard. We also wanted to match the scale of adjacent buildings. Although slightly taller, we believe that the sloping roof helps the student housing fit in nicely with the older, mixed architecture on a busy street.

To reduce the scale of the facade, it is broken down into three parts by two windowed stairways. The ground floor facade is all glass, except for a portal on the left which leads to a rear courtyard where the family apartments are found.