Like a lot of other smart city concepts, Oslo Airport City (OAC) is a bold move which will provide Norway a testing ground for smart city concepts and autonomous systems. The whole project will be located beside the Oslo Airport Gardermoen located about 45 kilometers from the Oslo City Center. Indeed, the idea of the Oslo Airport City Center is a bold one!
A Smart, Sustainable and Green Airport
In the grander scheme of things, one of the main aims of the Oslo Airport City Center project is to be the “first energy positive airport city” with the use of renewable energy sources able to service not only the various buildings and infrastructure but also the autonomous electric vehicles running on the streets.
Any surplus energy will also be sold to surrounding communities and cities. This detail is of particular significance since Norway is one of the leading exporters of oil. However, the country’s oil income is placed in a trust fund which will help the country after the oil reserves have run out.
The project will be spread over a 988-acre area with the total development covering about 11 million square feet. The development is under the lead of Haptic Architects and the Nordic Office of Architecture.
Other Details on the Oslo Airport City Center
The Oslo Aiport City Center will be a city complete with residential, commercial and office buildings, including space for cargo and logistics. Amenities will include hotels, cultural centers, sports and swimming arenas, parks, and other recreation areas. Besides the business facilities for meetings and events, there are also other planned spaces for rock climbing, cycling and parachute rides. There will be a train terminal servicing the traffic to and from the airport. Besides the driverless cars, other smart city features will be auto-lighting, mobility solutions, waste and disposal management, and security measures.
Admittedly, the target residents of the OAC will be the airport employees. To service their transportation needs, there will be shuttles or other transport vehicles within a short wait of 5 minutes. The planned community is expected to have a population of 22,000 and will have room to grow to 40,000 by 2050. The new smart city development and construction will start in 2019-2020 and is planned to be built over a period of 30 years. Moreover, the fleet of autonomous electric vehicles will start operations by 2025.
The Best Airport in the World
The Oslo Airport City Center is already considered as the best airport in the world—and the OAC will not disappoint in its targets. The city center will be car-free because there will be no need for vehicles in the walkable areas. There will also be a cycling route, and transportation will be nearby and easily accessible. It will only use the renewable energy it produces, which would, in turn, necessitate the overproduction of power from renewable sources, just in case.
On a related note: The Nordic Office of Architecture is an Oslo-based firm with offices in London and Copenhagen. It designed the original Oslo Airport during the 1990s, as well as delivering the curving extension in 2017. That doubled the airport size and increased the capacity to 35 million passengers per year. Aside from the Oslo Airport City Center project, it is also currently working on a new six-runway airport in Istanbul, Turkey—which, when completed in 2020, will be the largest airport in the world. This kind of airport will not only be a welcome development for travelers passing through Oslo but a step forward in the right direction when it comes to urban development.