The villagers shape the future

Heart transplant

In the middle of the village, like a beating heart with arteries extending in every direction, lies Sogndal bus station. But the requirements for a bus station are changing, and the village is growing and needs both more housing and commercial premises. This calls for major changes to the old “Billagstomti” site. Clemens Eiendom, a subsidiary of OVF, will develop the entire property together with its local partner, Einarsen Eiendom. A new, modern bus station, an attractive urban outdoor area and beautiful apartments will be built here. There will be commercial premises at ground level, and parking and a grocery store underground. The heart will be renewed – if not a transplant, then certainly a major transformation.

Genuine participation in the plans

Billagstomti has an established neighbourhood, but everyone else who lives in or drives through central Sogndal will also see the new quarter. The new bus station will be used daily by very many people, and many will have their future workplace here. We are talking about investments of up to one billion kroner. As developers, we therefore believe it is entirely natural that the villagers themselves should be able to express their opinions and have a genuine influence on the project.

In 2023, we carried out a project in which pupils at the nearby primary school contributed ideas, among other things by creating their visions for Billagstomti in the computer game Minecraft. We also held an open public meeting where neighbours and other residents were able to raise their concerns and thoughts about the project.

“I love the project”

On Tuesday, 9 January, there was another open meeting at Quality Hotel Sogndal. Three different architectural solutions were presented to a more-than-full conference room through models, display boards and presentations from the stage by the architecture teams themselves. Visitors were encouraged to submit their comments online, or write their thoughts on Post-it notes and attach them to the display boards. The teams from Clemens Eiendom and Einarsen Eiendom were inspired by the feedback, the constructive conversations and notes such as “I love this project”, which was attached to one of the display boards.

The following day was spent processing all the impressions and input from the previous evening, as well as the three fantastic architectural proposals. It will take time, but we hope to shape everything into a good project and that it will not be too long before we begin creating a new quarter, with a new bus station, in the way the villagers want it.