PENTAGON SOON TO BE

New Pentagon should be ready for people to move in July 2027. Even though a lot of people are probably looking forward to getting away from the showers with a nickname that is associated with World War 2, others are sad to see the traditional student housing go. No matter what you think about the fact that they are going to be demolished, most of us have been affected by the building process, whether you love at Pentagon or not. Tuntréet had a chat with SiÅs to hear how the project is coming along.

Journalist: Isabelle Damhaug

Photographer: Jørgen Berg Yndestad

Translator: Eva Weston Szemes

Noise levels

Even though the construction work is still visible in the area, the loudest phase of the project is already over according to SiÅs. “The noisiest work has been done during the very first phase, and that’s already been done for a long time” says Pål Løken, CEO of SiÅs. This still doesn’t mean the area is quiet. According to Løken, the residents will still notice construction traffic and traffic because of the transportation of goods, and generally more such activity on weekdays. He says that the work is to be conducted between 7 am and 5 pm on weekdays. A quick look at SiÅs’ webpage reveals that work has sometimes started as early as 5:30 am though, so no wonder why certain residents of Pentagon have been walking around with dark rings under their eyes. Løken says they’ve had some complaints about noise earlier in the process, but that there have been fewer in the last months. This might be a sign that the noise levels have gone down, or maybe the Pentagon residents have developed selective hearing.

ABC

At the same time, it’s not only the construction work that has been a topic of discussion among the residents. The use of the basement in the ABC building for parties has also been a topic. Løken is very clear in this case: the basement is primarily for the residents of the building, and it’s not a zone for parties. “There are residents in the building, and they shouldn’t have to deal with such parties so close to them. Studentsamfunnet should be used for such events”.

There are guidelines for the use of the basement, and these are visible. At the same time, it’s up to the students to be considerate. If there are recurring problems, SiÅs will get in touch with residents, and in more acute situations, you can get in touch with Keysec.

In the new buildings, SiÅs seems to have a plan for this issue. The plan is to make separate premises on the lowest floor of one of the buildings for events. This should be more separate from the apartments, and could potentially work better as a social space than today’s solution.

A TASTE OF PENTAGON 3

These days we can start to see the outline of what I have started to call ‘Pentagon 3’. SiÅs calls this ‘byggetrinn 1’, which involves the new buildings below Hankattloftet. However, this could already be read about last year (see TT05), and therefore it is time to get started on what the interior will be like. Because as we all know, it is what’s inside that counts!

Journalist: Hanna Lindeman

Translator: Maribel Montenegro

When I contacted SiÅs director Pål Magnus Løken to get some details about their plans for the interior, I was sent a whole booklet, where I was told that color concepts 1 and 2 had been chosen. This means there will be some color variation between the new collectives. I also learned that the template for the interior will be SiÅs’ latest interior adventure, namely Skogveien from 2022. Materials such as solid wood, concrete and vinyl will once again be used.

It is the red color of the brick on the outside that forms the basis for all three color palettes, with number 1 being the cooler variant, while number 2 is more based on green tones. Is this to ‘bring nature into the building’, as they say so nicely? Anyway, I will let you, dear reader, decide for yourself what you think of the color choice. After all, one’s own personal opinion is quite subjective, and not something I can tell you.

Something I would have liked to hear more about was the furniture, but here I got a cryptic answer back that “we are working on it”. What kind of stiff sofa or boring plastic chairs will be chosen is therefore not yet clear. We can only wait in anticipation!