Reconnecting the Harbour

Bergen’s harbour front is undergoing a transformation that re-establishes its historical connection to the fjord while enriching the city’s cultural and urban fabric. By blending nature, history, and contemporary urban planning, Nøstebukten Brygge offers a generous, high-end waterfront district that invites the public to explore.

Rooted in Bergen’s historic streets and organic city structure, the design breaks up building masses, creating new pathways for direct access to the fjord and strengthening existing connections that naturally lead to the water.

Public life is at the heart of Nøstet’s renewal. The waterfront promenade is designed as a spacious and inviting public realm, where generous pathways, urban seating, and green elements create a vibrant environment. Its multi-level design carefully distinguishes between residential terraces, public walkways, and direct water access, ensuring a comfortable balance between private and communal life, including a kindergarten.

Within the district, inner courtyards are opened up, providing green, intimate communal spaces accessible to both residents and the wider public outside kindergarten hours. Envisioned as shared urban gardens, these courtyards blend soft landscaping with planted terraces to foster a tranquil yet social setting.

Circularity drives this transformation, as the project adopts FutureBuilt principles to achieve a 90% reuse rate. Wood, bricks, façade panels, and sprinkler pipes are salvaged; even the former building’s floor will become exterior cladding. Leftover fixtures and installations have been given away or sold, and future buyers can include reclaimed materials in their apartments, linking new homes to their origins.

Given Bergen’s high rainfall, water harvesting further strengthens resilience. Rainwater is collected for landscaping, green roofs, and public spaces, making sustainability a tangible part of the district’s identity.

A key ambition is to bring the fjord back into everyday life. A public promenade stretches along the waterfront, offering a dynamic sequence of communal spaces for recreation and reflection—reconnecting city and fjord, past and future, private and public.