Lecture tour in Vesterålen
Published 30 September 2026
Liv Helene Willumsen and Gøril Karlsen have been on a lecture tour in Vesterålen
30 August 2023
There are many tasks to be solved before SKREI can open in 2026. Among these are landscape planning – what the landscape around SKREI and now especially the Otolith should look like. What can we preserve of trees, rocks and landscape formations? Landscape architects and sample excavation are important tools.
The buildings that once belonged to the institution Våganheimen are to be demolished. The ground will be developed and make room for the new building Otolitten, parking spaces and recreational areas.
On 28 June, Asplan Viak visited Storvågan. The goal was to identify which trees, rocks, plants and landscape formations can be preserved. Along with landscape architects Knut Bjørgum and Rakel Fredriksen from Asplan Viak was also engineer Bjarne Ravn Hunstad. He was present by virtue of his expertise in tree care.
They all agree that it aims to preserve as much as possible of the plants and landscape formations. “What’s here thrives here, so it’s about taking care of it,” says Bjarne Ravn Hustad.
While we want to make as small interventions as possible, we also need to establish sight lines. For example, it is important that you can see Vågakallen when you come out of the new building “Otolitten”, on the side where Gallery Espolin is located.
basic tests of the ground in the site of the “Otolith”
At the same inspection, basic tests of the ground was also carried out. The basic test is done to obtain the best possible information for the further work.
Sigrid Anita Bjørck, consulting engineer at Asplan Viak in Leknes, says that groundwater was encountered during the test digging. The findings do not hinder the construction process of the “Otolith” or the further work on SKREI.
Project Manager for SKREI, Jens-Henrik Andersen, is looking forward to the start of construction. Before this, there is a lot to be put in place. He praises the talented professionals who are also involved in this part of the project. There are many parties and a lot of different expertise that are needed for SKREI, and now in the first place, the new building “the Otolith” to be realised.
In the autumn, demolition of the existing buildings will begin. Then the area will be fenced off and we will probably get a clearer feeling that the construction project is underway.