On Stream Developments

Discover Oslo’s urban development on a walk along Hovinbekken, a stream that demonstrates one of the city’s major initiatives: to reopen old waterways once hidden in pipes. Our Tour begins with a bus or metro ride to Hasle, a neighbourhood just east of the city centre. Here we visit the former Vinmonopolet distillery, designed by Juell and Scheen in 1933. The distillery has since been transformed into Vinslottet (“the Wine Castle”) - a combined housing complex and shopping centre designed by Kristin Jarmund Arkitekter, which opened in 2020.

Directly across the street lies HasleTre, one of Oslo’s most innovative timber construction projects, designed by OsloTre.

From here, the walk follows the Hovin stream, beginning at Teglverksdammen, a newly created pond, before continuing down to Ensjø. Once dominated by car dealerships, this district has now been redeveloped into a residential area for more than 12,000 people. The stream`s reopening from Hasle to Ensjø was planned by landscape architects Bjørbekk & Lindheim.

Our route also passes through the charming Lille Tøyen Hageby, a garden city designed by Magnus Poulsson in the 1920s, and the colourful Kampen district, before reaching the modern Jordal Amfi hockey arena. Closer to the city centre, the path takes us through the Klosterenga Sculpture Park, which finally opened in 2022 after three decades of planning and development.

The cars to city tour concludes in the lively neighbourhood of Grønland, where the stream meets one of Oslo’s most vibrant cultural hubs.