bjarke ingels group plants vestre's eco-friendly furniture factory in a norwegian forest

vestre has unveiled plans for what it describes as ‘the world’s most eco-friendly furniture factory’. designed by bjarke ingels group (BIG), the building — titled ‘the plus’ — will be constructed near the norwegian village of magnor in the middle of a pine forest. once the 300 million NOK ($31 million USD) development is complete, all-electric tesla trucks will shuttle between the firm’s existing factory in torsby, sweden and the new location. construction is set to start in august 2020.

image by lucian R (also main image), all images courtesy of vestre / bjarke ingels group

in designing the project, BIG sought to re-imagine the factory typology by bridging the gap between environment, transparency, and manufacturing. as its name suggests, ‘the plus’ is a cross-shaped structure with a centrally positioned intersection. formed as an indoor ’roundabout’, this junction efficiently processes all logistic traffic within the factory. from this urban plaza a colorful stair leads to the vestre office and exhibition center which is intentionally lifted above the production facility.

image by lucian R

‘the entire interior is organized like a flowchart — with the color of each machine overflowing to include the floors,’ explains bjarke ingels. ‘as you explore the plus, you move through a functional archipelago of colorful islands – overview and experience become one and the same.’ meanwhile, the inclined shed-roof forms two extensions, creating a path for visitors to hike up the building while following the production processes inside. this pathway provides access to a roof terrace that serves as a lookout as well as an event space at the heart of the forest.

image by lucian R

the factory will be the first industrial building in the nordic region to achieve ‘BREEAM outstanding’, the highest environmental certification. the façade will be made of the pine trees removed from the construction site, while the building will have at least 50% lower greenhouse gas emissions than similar projects. furthermore, smart robots and self-driving trucks will be employed throughout with the whole factory able to be managed through a tablet.

image by lucian R

the design team says that much of the factory’s roof will be covered with natural vegetation. biodiversity will be further enhanced by allowing the forest surrounding the woodland to grow wild, without the introduction of non-native species or forest management and clearing activities which remove the homes of animals, as well as hiding places and their sources of food. many nesting boxes will also be put up to ensure that cavity-nesting birds have somewhere to lay their eggs.

image by lucian R

‘with vestre we have imagined a factory that is simultaneously front of house and back of house,’ continues bjarke ingels. ‘the beauty of the factory is the clarity of its organization. conceived as the intersection of a road and a production line it forms a large plus connecting everything to everything. the radical transparency invites visitors and hikers to enjoy the whole process of manufacturing while providing the workers the thrill of working in the middle of the forest.’

image by lucian R

the entire project will be immersed within a 300-acre park, which intends to make the town of magnor an inviting destination for visitors from all around the world. when the main production is moved to magnor, vestre’s factory in torsby, sweden will provide steel and aluminum components, which will be sent to norway for painting and assembling. ‘the plus’ is set to complete in late 2021, early 2022.

image by lucian R

image by lucian R

image by lucian R

image by lucian R

jan christian vestre (vestre CEO) and bjarke ingels

scale model highlighting the cross-shaped design

project info:

name: the plus
location: gaustadvegen, magnor, norway
type: commission
size: 6,500 sqm / 69,965 sqf
client: jan christian vestre / vestre AS
status: construction to begin in august 2020, completion scheduled for 2021/2022

architect: bjarke ingels group
partners-in-charge: bjarke ingels, david zahle, ole elkjær-larsen
project manager: viktoria millentrup, eva seo-andersen
team: julia tabet, ariana szmedra, ningnan ye, ron bexheti, ksenia zhitomirskaya, jens majdal kaarsholm, ulla hornsyld, eduardo javier sosa treviño, steen kortbæk svendsen, kristoffer negendahl, pin tungjaroen, neringa jurkonyte, magni waltersson, cheng-huang lin, tommy bjørnstrup, tristan harvey, duncan horswill, katrine juul, alexander jacobsen, tore banke, frederic lucien engasser, thor larsen-lechuga, katrine sandstrøm, jesper petersen, kaoan hengles, ewa zapiec, ariana ribas, andy coward, andreas bak, nanna gyldholm møller