KVADRATROT
Competition Proposal | A-Lab
Square Root was the winning competition proposal for Kristiania’s new campus in the historic Kvadraturen district of Oslo. The concept was inspired by Yggdrasil – the Tree of Knowledge, with its roots anchored at the heart of the building and its branches represented by staircases spreading upwards in different directions.
The dynamic staircase became the central architectural idea: a journey through the building where movement, changing perspectives and social spaces represent the spreading and sharing of knowledge. At its base, the atrium and amphitheatre form the “forest floor” – the social heart from which the campus grows.
I developed the original Yggdrasil and Square Root concept, including the idea and design principles behind the branching staircase, and also worked on the façade design. The façade responds to the historic character of Kvadraturen, reinterpreting its proportions and classical divisions within a contemporary architecture.
