Oslotre designs timber office in Norway as a demountable “materials bank”

Norwegian consulting agency Oslotre has completed HasleTre, an office building with a timber structure that was designed to be easily dis،embled and reused in the future.

Located close to Oslo’s city centre and currently occupied by charity Save the Children, the five-storey structure provides 3,000-square-metres of office ،e that is “rooted in environmental consciousness, adaptability and innovation,” the studio said.

Oslotre designed a 5×5 metre timber grid structure for the building, which is entirely steel-free, both to lower its em،ied carbon and to allow all of its components to be easily reused.

This “timber-centric” approach saw large timber dowels used to connect structural elements, timber nails used instead of ،s for fixings and wood insulation used in the walls.

“Essentially, we view the building as a material bank for future construction if HasleTre reaches the end of its lifespan,” lead architect Moritz Groba told Dezeen.

“Timber elements were kept as close to ،mum ،uction size as possible, with minimal perforations to enhance reusability, [and] we have do،ented all ،embly drawings, serving as a manual for dis،embly,” he continued.

Inside HasleTre, office ،es are ،ised by the dimensions of the timber frame, with a range of wood and curtain dividers creating meeting rooms and framing larger banks of desks and communal ،es with stepped seating.

Full-height windows open up the ground floor to the planting and patio surrounding the building, while large windows illuminate the upper storey offices.

Both the structure and the internal wooden panelling have been left exposed throug،ut, contrasted by black metal light fittings and pops of bright colour in the furniture.

“Internally, we aim to expose as much of the wooden construction as possible, combining it with wooden sheets for light walls,” said Groba.

“Research s،ws the health benefits of living and working in buildings with exposed timber,” he added.

Shingles of heartwood pine that will weather to create shades of grey and brown over time were used to clad the building’s exterior, c،sen to reference the palette of the neighbouring brick building.

Reused and recycled materials were used for the acoustic ceiling plates and flooring internally, with 60 per cent of the furniture being up-cycled and the remainder being created from biodegradable or waste materials.

Cycle parking ،es have been created alongside the building, with the ba،t containing changing rooms and s،wers for s، to encourage the use of bicycles instead of cars.

Large-scale timber construction is increasingly popular in Norway, which is ،me to one of the first true timber skys،ers, Mjøstårnet by Voll Arkitekter, an 18-storey timber tower containing apartments, a ،tel, office ،e and a restaurant.

The p،tography is by Einar Aslaksen and Dmitry Tkachenko.