Lillestrøm Bicycle Hotel

Norwegian studio Various Architects designed a bicycle parking next to Lillestrøm train station: a public green rooftop made in wood, laying over a glass box, serving as a “bike hotel”.

Norway has set ambitious targets for environmental and sustainable future. An increasing number of railway stations will now have a bicycle hotel, to promote the use of bicycles. The Lillestrøm Bicycle Hotel designed by Various Architects opened in what is considered to be Norway’s best cycling city.

The design of the building focuses on making a positive contribution to the surroundings. The project gives back to the city the built area, by providing a public green rooftop, which directly connects to the main square of the train station and is easily accessible. The roof is conformed by furnishing, vegetation, stairs and slopes, creating a unique experience with a panoramic view towards Lillestrøm.

The design concept is basically a wooden green roof on a glass box, and a concrete base that protects the building against the surrounding heavy traffic. The transparent glass walls allow natural light to filter through during the day and transform the building into a glowing box at night. The glass walls continue over the roof, turning into the balustrade around the public area. At the same time, the roof penetrates through the walls to frame the entrance and to provide a shelter against rain.

The double story bicycle rack becomes the main element in the space. The room height varies from 2.70 m to 6.00 m following to the curvature of the dynamic roof. The Glass walls are constructed using U-Glass profiles, which are self-supporting and require no metal profiles. The assembly of the glass walls leaves a small gap between each profile, generating a permeable element between the street and the bicycle parking, this provides a sense of safety to the users.

The timber beams, exposed in the interior to define the curvature of the roof. A collaborative design process with structural engineers rustled in creating a simple roof structure with repetitive beam shapes to reduce the cost. The shape of the roof is simplified to be a single curved structure, with a diagonal slope to maintain it’s dynamic form and experience and allows rain drainage. The wooden roof lays on thin steel columns, liberating the roof to be perceived as a separate floating element.

The building has a minimal energy consumption. At day time no lighting is required, thanks to the glass walls and at night the artificial lighting serves the interior and provides additional light to the surroundings. Natural crossed ventilation is possible through the gaps between the glass profiles hence no additional ventilation is required.