Jordfagbygningen 1971

Jordfagbygningen (The Soil Science Building) was completed in 1971 and housed the Institute of Soil Culture and the Institute of Soil Science with the State Soil Surveys. The entire third floor and parts of the basement were routine laboratories for soil analysis for Norwegian agriculture. In 1987, this activity was taken over by the Norwegian Peat Company and later by Jordforsk, while the research parts of the laboratory remained the responsibility of the Norwegian Agricultural College (NLH). This led to some remodeling in the basement.

Both Jordfagbygningen, which in 1966 was called the Soil Institutes on the drawings, and the Isotope Laboratory were designed by architect Leif Olav Moen. The building has a gross area of 6100 sqm.

In Byggenytt (Norwegian magazine), May 1970, Jordfagbygningen is described as a highly specialized laboratory building that is the first regular building in NLH’s expansion of laboratory buildings. It is emphasized that significant importance was placed on normalizing function and needs to achieve a building as adaptable as possible to future changes without major operational disruptions and costs. Therefore, the laboratories were designed with all supplies vertically along the window wall, at every other axis. All fume hoods are placed in the core of the building.

The building was constructed with prefabricated columns and cast-in-place slabs. The Isotope Laboratory was placed in a separate wing for safety reasons.

Building cost 11,5 million NOK.

History of the Building

Jordfagbygningen was constructed with direct allocations from the state budget. Allocations of 6, 5, and 4 million NOK were made for the years 1969, 1970, and 1971, respectively. The project was led by the State Building and Property Directorate, which announced the assignment in 1963.

Fortunately, there are still employees who remember the functions of the building and what it was like to work in the building in the 1970s. This makes it possible to gather some of the history around the building. One of them is Tore Krogstad.

– The building was planned for significant activity in climate-regulated research and growth experiments. Three large rooms with temperature and light control were built in the basement and cellar, and two smaller growth rooms with light regulation for plant experiments in the basement and first floor. The rooms were actively used until the late 1980s. Today (2024), only one climate-regulated growth room remains in the cellar.

The building also had a well-equipped mechanical workshop in the basement. Here, there were metal lathes, large drilling machines, and saws for repairing field equipment. This was moved to the barn at Kjerringjordet in the 1990s.

There was also an emphasis on having large and good storage space for soil and plant samples from the experiments. Dedicated storage rooms were built in the basement, and they are still in use, says Tore Krogstad.

He adds that there were early problems with the building. The quality of the construction was questionable, and already after a short time, a significant change had to be made for the laboratories. The distilled water system was established in the attic, and the water pipes from there down through the building were poorly insulated on the outer wall. The water froze in the winter, and a relatively large job had to be done to lay the pipes frost-free inside the building.

Upgrading and renovation measures in the building

• The ventilation system for the laboratories has been replaced twice since 1990.
• The laboratory on the 3rd floor was demolished in 2008, and the floor remained empty. In 2024, the entire building is used by MINA.
• In 2015/2016, measures worth 9 million were implemented. A teaching laboratory with a lecture room was built, a new laboratory for soil physics and soil biology was established, the toilets in the basement, 1st and 2nd floors were upgraded, the cold room was moved from the 1st floor to the basement, the canteen and kitchen were upgraded, and quiet rooms, meeting rooms, and computer rooms were established in the basement.                                                                                                                                                           

Details about the Rehabilitation of Jordfagsbygningen 2016

Jordfagsbygningen was worn out and had issues with windows and facades. Therefore, a major project was initiated to improve this. To improve ventilation, it was necessary to demolish the entire technical floor on the roof and build a new one. Over 20 tons of concrete were broken up and thrown down from the roof. It also turned out that there were more significant damages and problems with the facade than initially anticipated. Therefore, more extensive measures were needed than originally planned. The building needed improvements to meet current accessibility requirements. The project’s goal was to provide a more universal design of the entrance area and access to the various floors.

The 3rd floor had been empty since the laboratories were removed. In this floor, a flexible workspace area was established, which can easily be converted into a teaching area.

60 million NOK was spent on the roof, facades, and ventilation, and 10 million NOK on the re-establishment of the 3rd floor.