Norway’s Best Cycling City

0
3566

Lillestrom, a ten minutes train ride from Oslo, the capital of Norway, has frequently been voted the Best cycling city in Norway. Last fall Lillestrom Bicycle Hotel, commissioned by ROM Eiendom AS and The Norwegian National Railways, was officially opened.

The Bicycle Hotel (“Sykkelhotellet”) has added a new feature to make rwo-wheeled transport even easier for locals and visitors. The Bicycle Hotel is adjacent to the Lillestrom Railway Station and will give bikes a cozy space to bunk up while riders are off in the city.

Norway’s Best Cycling City
Lillestrom Bicycle Hotel

Norway has set ambitious targets for environmental and sustainable future, and an increasing number of railway stations will promote the use of bicycles by erecting bicycle storage space that is protected from the elements.

The bicycle hotel in Lillestrom is directly connected to the main square of the train station and focuses on making a positive contribution to the surroundings.

Norway’s Best Cycling City
Inside Lillestrpm Bicycle Hotel

The glass box consisting of transparent glass walls allows natural light to filter through during the day and transform the building into a glowing box at night. This way the building has a minimal energy consumption. At day time no lighting is required since the glass walls allow for natural day light. During the night the artificial lighting double functions for the illumination of the interior and provides additional lighting to the surroundings.

The glass walls feature thin gaps between panels, allowing for natural ventilation without complicated venting systems.

A dynamic wooden roof is resting on the glass box, and a playful concrete base protects the building against the surrounding heavy traffic. This gesture provides an inviting public to the top. In addition to a safe and nominally priced place for bike storage, the Bicycle Hotel offers a public green rooftop with a sloping ramp, stairs, and benches plus a stunning view of the city beyond.
access

Norway’s Best Cycling City
Also in the city of Drammen, halt an hour’s train ride southwards from Oslo, a bicycle hotel is available ,

Together the glass box and the roof create an intimate yet open and accessible public space, while the double story bicycle rack becomes the main element in the space. “Together the glass box and the roof create an intimate yet open and accessible public space,” said the architects in a statement.

Norway’s Best Cycling City
Opening of the bicycle hotel in Sandvika (between Oslo and Drammen)

The seventh bicycle hotel in Norway was officially opened in Sandvika last month.

Norway’s Best Cycling City, Written by Tor Kjolberg

Previous articleBest Scandinavian Gourmet Restaurants 2017
Next articleHard Core Fishing and Champagne in Norway
Avatar photo
Journalist, PR and marketing consultant Tor Kjolberg has several degrees in marketing management. He started out as a marketing manager in Scandinavian companies and his last engagement before going solo was as director in one of Norway’s largest corporations. Tor realized early on that writing engaging stories was more efficient and far cheaper than paying for ads. He wrote hundreds of articles on products and services offered by the companies he worked for. Thus, he was attuned to the fact that storytelling was his passion.