KNOTTING HILL

Knotting Hill articulates and regenerates the site with new infrastructure, buildings, public urban spaces and reinforces the links to the rest of the city. The aim is to create an eclectic neighborhood for new forms of urbanity. The area former characterized by zoning and juxtaposed urban fragments transforms into an hybridised coherrent town for transportation, living, leasure, working, cultural and commersial activities.Well integreated in the urban transportation network with good access to the water and diversified urban spaces of high quality, Knotting Hill becomes one of the smartest and most desirable areas characterised in gothenburg.

The citystructure developed reacts on and adapts to the existing physical and historical environment of the area. It creats knotted and flowing spaces and dissolves the traditional block structure of the city. Private and public spaces are more intertwined and intergratded and depending on position Knotting Hill contains different functions as offices, parks, gardens, housing, spaces for cultural or commercial activities to varying extent. Existing and coming flows desides degree of expoatation in different parts of the area. The new area becomes a well integrated part of the urban tissue with social mix, mixed use functions, public transportations, streets and public squares.

Knotting Hill presents a dynamical building typology within a fixed structure. Thus different housingtypologies and functions of the new area are joint in a superior volyme and shape. The coherent volyme defines different qourtyards and spaces. It delivers streamlined linearety along the main roads and devirsified and palyfull blocks with transperant semi public courtyards turning to parks, smaller streets and public squares.

The comprehensive streetscape is shaped in the interplay between existing flows and the new buildings and their scale and functions. Unity and Diversity of knotted and flowing space is the theme of Knotting Hill

KNOTTING STAGES
The area develops in two stages.

Stage 1
The scheme is designed for a gradual development of the site. Parts of the traffic apparatus with secondary roads, will have to be rearanged, in some parts, during this cunstruction work. However it will be possible to implement block 1 and 2 in stage 1 before the traffic junction is demolished. The new staion is erected in this stage. Together with the densification of the site the area is revitalised and transformed into a transportation hub. This development is complemented with new or improved roads, connections, streetcrossings ,crossroads, pathwayes, walking- and bicycleroads, treeplantations, streetlighting and so forth that is carried out during this phase.

Stage 2
Before and/or simultaneously as block 3 is constructed the final traffic layout for the whole area is implementet. Erecting block 3 means finalising the revitalization of the site and that the urban area is healed. A continious cityscape has finally replaced a scattered and torn roadscape.

(K)NOT SPACE

Infrastructure
A new developed and reshaped infrastructure makes the area an important and improved node in the future urban landscape of gothenburg.

A rhombus shaped traffic loop connects the new area on both sides of the river. The local loop intertwine with the surrounding and passing regional roads and to the rest of the city. It directs the traffic along main routes so it becomes a vitalizing factor for the commercial and cultural activities in the area.

The three main roads, The Gamlestadsroad, the Artillery street and the new continuation ot The Slaughterhouse road intersect in the new main roundabout. The different tram lines are divided in different directions crossing through it.

The traffic layout aims to be subordinated the blocks , which gives you the feeling of passing the area on its own rules in low pase. As the area develops, what was before perceived as a bypass transforms into a citystreet, a boulevard with calmer traffic, tree plantations, broad pavements, shopping and cafe´s on street level.

A new train-/tram-station, Göteborg Norra, connects the available routes in the area and creates good conditions for a future expansion. Along the train station is a new buss tram/ station stretched across Säveån.

Transportation
Different traffic categories like cars, bicycles, buses and trams are integrated in the same road infrastructure system. Along the small river banks, across the stream, under the bridges as well as penetrating through the site is a well coordinated structure of pedestrian and bicycle roads. These crosses through important nodes in the area with commuter, public and commercial functions and activities. Crossing the railway tracks and platforms is a pedestrian bridge that connects to park, parking, tram station and pedestrian / bicycle roads. From the bridge there is direct access to the train platforms.

Public space
An integrated park and public square characterised as a flowing space there streetlife, wildlife and private life meet and amalgamatestretches is constructed along and across Säveån. This flowing space in the extensioin of The Artillery street reaches alongside the new buildings as a rectangular plaza close to the waterfront, across the small river up to the square in front of the new commuter station

To make the whole area active and vibrant during all time of the day and during all days of the week different functions like housing, offices and commercial spaces are to be mixed on both sides of Säveån. This will also be the guarantee for making the station area a safe and attractive place to visit also during late hours.

(K)notspace is defined by its users, not by its creators.

(K)NOT BLOCK
The area are today characterised by two main building typologies. Three story blocks , typical Gothenburgish county governor houses, and old industrial buildings, with much greater scale and height, witch are both of great historical value. The country governor houses are comprising two wooden floors on top of a street level built out of brick and the old factory buildings are compact and heavy structures mainly made out of brick. The county governor houses are organized around a fairly large semi private inner courtyard whereas the industrial buildings mostly are compact volumes.

The design of Knotting hill is based on the characteristics of the existing buildings in the area today. The architecture of the new blocks is a continuation of this tradition but interpreted in a playful manner and adapted to the circumstances of the site, program requirements and to the needs of the contemporary city. It adopts the brick material of the industrial area and the wooden structure of the housing areas surrounding. The typology is an inverted county governor house there the wooden structure is placed in the street level where it is flexible in façade while the upper volume is stable and protected like in the old industrial factory buildings. The blocks are perceived as solid volumes but has an uplifted inner courtyards. Like in the county governor houses or especially like in the old industrial buildings of Gamlestadens fabriker the facade constitute a homogeneous skin that holds a complex and diversified interior.

Buildings
The new blocks revitalize and diversifies the whole area. Knotting Hill introduces housing in the old industrial area, south from Säveån, witch mainly consists of commercial spaces today. It also introduces commercial, cultural and high quality public space in the areas north of Säveån witch consist mainly of road infrastructure and housing today. Depending on context and adjacent building structures and infrastructure the new building typology adapt in form and content to the scale and the flow of the site. Offices are mainly placed along the train/tram station , boulevard houses along main streets, double row houses along public space, row houses along parks, commercial space along main streets and so forth.
The shape of the blocks reaches out and connects to the existing urban structure but also bends and embrace streetspace.. In the relatively harsh and noisy environment this is to create transperant,semi public quiet gardenparks and courtyards. High-rise building by station to low housing along parks and the country governor houses.

Commercial
The (k)not blocks has principally a one or two story base for commercial or working purposes. In the corners this increases to comprise the total hight of the building. This positions are the most vulnerable for living but also the best for commercial exposition. To be able to contain offices and shops the depth of the buildings are extended in the corners.

A (K)notblock defines its surroundings equally. A (K)notblock has neither a front sida nor a backside.

(K)NOT ROOM - housing
The apartments comprise a combination of simplicity and standardisation with the idea of
a (k)not room stretching from one facede to the other intersecting and disolving the public with the private, the inner with the outer. The use, balance and direction of the (k)not room, acting at the core of the apartments joining internal flows, is developt according to the individual needs of each tenant. The intention is that the facade of the (k)not room to some extent is affectable. It is consstructed as a single or doubble layer depending on perturbation from noise.

The blocks comprise of a mix of private, semi private, public and commercial spaces.
The homes in Knotting Hill fulfills the contemporary demand of diversification. Different typologies and sizes of flats, two storey row houses with external galleries, terrace apartments, and different forms of ownership as tenant ownership apartments, small student apartments, rental apartments are gathered within the same structure. A quite side with a protected semi private inner courtyard is a necessity but will also be of great importance for the living quality in the area.

A (K)notroom does not define living, living defines it.