The long plots of Eiker: Towards a sustainable landscape mosaic

For centuries the tradition of dividing land in Norway was grounded in a close to absolute egalitarianism. The project departures from a heritage law distributing land equally along the “valley section”. These long plots created a rich landscape mosaic spanning from flower and leaf meadows to forest pastures and areas for logging. The varied landscape disappeared alongside the political favoring of monocultural spruce plantations.
The sprucification of contemporary forests leads to vulnerability in a changing climate, with drier summers and heavier storms. Thus there’s a need to reimagine their inherent potential.The long plots still form the dominant ownership framework of Eiker’s forest, located by the Drammen River. They become the structure for a regional development transforming the forest into a mosaic. As farmers of the district intervene separately in time and usage, a shifting plot pattern is accentuated, and the monotonous forest is left behind. This functional productive landscape integrates diverse habitats as local ecological produce – and it becomes the public “park” that marka is for the Oslo metropolitan region.The mosaic points to the law of egalitarianism and right to roam shaping the cultural heritage of Norway. The proposed pilot gardens serve as test grounds for new cultivation practices. These are designed to discuss tensions between the man-made and the naturally growing, to de-learn society that the forest is “natural”. Our preconception of the forest as wild is today standing in the way for transforming the forest into a mixed, diverse landscape better adapted for the future.