C.F. Møller Architects are designing the Bergen ByArena with hotel and conference center — and the development of the Nygårdstangen urban area.

Toge­ther with HLM Arki­tektur from Bergen, engi­nee­ring company DIFK from Oslo and Neill Woodger Acou­stic and Theatre Design from London, C.F. Møller Archi­tects won the inter­na­tional archi­tec­tural compe­ti­tion for Bergen ByArena. Bergen ByArena is a new multi-purpose arena for up to 12,000 spec­ta­tors, a large hotel and confe­rence centre and the deve­lo­p­ment plan for the Nygård­stangen area, where a new public trans­port terminal and 800 homes will be built.

The deve­loper is Nygård­stangen Utvi­k­ling by Thon Gruppen, Rexir and EGD Property. Their vision for Bergen ByArena is to contri­bute to making Bergen an inter­na­tional desti­na­tion for cultural and sporting events, while trans­forming the area from a run-down tempo­rary car park into a vibrant new urban and resi­den­tial area.

Bergen ByArena is located at Nygård­stangen, which today consists of paved logi­stics areas, a motorway bridge, a large tempo­rary car park and an inef­fi­cient bus station. The area curr­ently appears cold and unfri­endly, crea­ting barriers to the city’s use and connec­tions.  

From the start, the architect’s primary approach has been about how the flexible ByArena and the hotel can func­tion as a cultural beacon and become a gene­rator for urban deve­lo­p­ment. The design wants to remove today’s grey barriers and instead connect the city with a series of green connec­tions, nice streets and open spaces that work for ever­yday and festive use.

In addi­tion to the arena, the project consists of two super­blocks with 800 homes, large green cour­ty­ards, a modern multi-storey car park and a new public trans­port terminal for buses and light rail. In addi­tion, there are three new large public squares, a long park street and a wide avenue that connects to the city centre at the central station.