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This book presents the process and result of
designing and constructing the ‘Leikegøta’
project, situated in Vang in the Valdres region.
The designers and craftsmen for the job were 19
architecture students from the NTNU University
in Trondheim. The constructing process took place
within two weeks in April 2016.
Valdres is a region in the eastern part of Norway,
extending northbound towards the west coast over
the mountains. The settlement in Valdres emerged
based on agriculture, hunting and forestry, and
is famous for its strong traditions within music,
artisan craft and building culture.
Vang is the westernmost of six municipalities in
Valdres and has around 1600 inhabitants. It is
located halfway between Bergen and Oslo, where
the typical eastern agricultural landscape and inland
climate merges with the dramatic mountain scenery
of western Norway. Throughout history, the ties have
been stronger to the west.
THE COURSE
Designing and constructing ‘Leikegøta’ is a part of
the spring semester course, AAR4623 – Topology,
Typology and Tectonics. It is initiated and taught
by the Department of Architectural Design, History
and Technology at the Faculty of Architectural
Design and Fine Art at NTNU. The main subject
for the 2016 course was to develop a strategy and
design for a newly established housing area in a part
of Vang called Hensåsen. The ‘Leikegøta’ project
is built on the contemplated playground for this
housing area. It is intended as a meeting place and
a common ground for people from all ages in the
surrounding area.
The course aims to develop a tectonic and a site-
specific approach to architecture. It is about a basic
understanding of architecture and about the global
environmental and social challenges of our time.
The intention is to strengthen the professional skills
of the architects, in order to respond to the needs of
society today. The American poet Ezra Pound (1885
– 1972) wrote: “Music degenerates if it moves too far
away from dance, and poetry shrivels if it becomes
too remote from music and song.” In the same
way, architecture has its own origin, and if it moves
too far away from it, it loses its effectiveness. The
renewal of an art means rediscovering its deepest
essence.
The course investigates the meaning of using local
resources in architecture. The question might
seem controversial in a time when architecture
and construction technology seem to be concerned
with the use of materials from all over the globe. In
Norway, bricks are import from Belgium, wood from
Lithuania and Siberia, natural stones from China,
glass from France etc. It seems like the main part of
industrialized building industry today is interested
to operate in a global context , risking to overlook
INTRODUCTION