New life to abandoned shopping center

The diploma project 03 Assembly Palace is based on the belief that the answer to successful suburban development lies in the boroughs themselves. The project looks at what already exists, and shows how a neighborhood that is lagging behind compared to other nearby developments, can strengthen and further develop its existing qualities by studying and understanding the neigbourhood's residents and the rhythm and infrastructure of the area.

03 Assembly Palace is based on the disused Fjell shopping center, and shows how abandoned places can be transformed into vivid communal spaces for the local community.

Bottom-up development

For the past ten or twenty years, Drammen has been the subject of a large-scale effort to renew and redecorate both the city center and the boroughs. The diploma project questions the approach of the transformation, and expresses a concern that the development fails to consider the distinctive character of the districts, but rather – for financial and practical reasons – strives to establish a "common recipe".

By immersing itself in the closed down Fjell center shopping center and looking at how it can be transformed into a flexible and usable gathering place for the diverse local population – the project provides valuable insights into how the local community can transform existing structures into socially sustainable meeting places.