Stories from Norway, ep. 1: Stupetårnet - interview bits translated
In 2008 the city of Hamar decided to build a diving tower by the lake Mjøsa.
It was supposed to cost 1,5 million kroner.
When the tower was finished seven years later, the cost had risen to 28 million kroner.
This is the story of the most expensive diving tower in the world.
Byberg: The diving tower was my idea. I didn’t think of the fancy floating diving tower we got. The original idea was to build an ordinary diving tower on the shore.
Johansen, lives in Hamar: The first time I heard about it, I couldn’t believe that they were going to build a diving tower down there.
Busterud, council chairman: The diving tower was accepted when I was the chairman. The background for this was that we had developed a nice beach area called Koigen.
Byberg: I remember well the day I convinced the council to start planning the diving tower.
Johansen: I think there was this one architect who was actually from Hamar. I think it was that guy called Kraft.
Kraft: Yes. My name is Tor Kraft and I am an architect.
Brenden, a local journalist: Tor Kraft is the architect who designed the diving board.
Busterud: When Tor Kraft delivered the plans, I had expected to see a metallic tower.
Kraft: I didn’t want to create something that looks like a metal ladder on the beach. A metal ladder with an ironing board on top. That’s what they were talking about.
Byberg: I had imagined really just an ordinary diving tower. I became slightly overwhelmed by what we got.
Kraft: I didn’t know what they were going for. I had to define the goal myself. I started the day I got the commission. It was a Friday.
Kraft: I’m sure that if the Eiffel tower was this big, it would still be great to admire its shape and everything. But it’s enormous. Incredibly big.
Kraft: After I got the idea that the tower could be on the water and be beautiful… That it would work well there… It wouldn’t have been fun to settle for a mere household ladder! No.
Byberg: The architect’s design was well received by everyone in the council.
Busterud: I saw right away that this was going to be more expensive than we had expected. It wasn’t just a diving tower anymore. It was a recreational centre.
Kraft: I felt that I had a lot of freedom to come up with ideas. I came up with an idea that turned out to cost a lot more than what they had reserved for it in their budget.
Byberg: There was a moment, when we no longer had control. But we didn’t realise that we had lost control.
Brenden: The first time I reacted to the price was in 2011. The city council was informed that the diving tower would cost 7,4 million kroner.
Johansen: It’s almost incredible that a diving tower could be so expensive.
Byberg: Thinking back, I may have put too much trust on the information I got during the project.
Brenden: Suddenly we heard that the cost had risen to 13 million. That’s when it starts to be painfully expensive.
Kraft: When people started saying that the tower should just be sunk to where it stood… It was hard for me.
Byberg: The cost was reaching 18-20 million. When we reached 20, some wanted to just sink the tower into the lake.
Brenden: At one point people just wanted to sink the whole tower into the bottom of the lake.
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Byberg: A storm blew up on the Mjøsa.
Busterud: Mjøsa is not exactly the Atlantic Ocean. But it can get right windy here too!
Brenden: One thinks that the diving tower sits undisturbed where it’s being built, but the storm and the wind yanked it loose.
Busterud: Turns out the base was not made of metal but styrofoam, so that it would float.
Byberg: Some of the attachments of the tower broke.
Byberg: I was afraid. I was afraid that we would lose it.
Busterud: Styrofoam is not the most sturdy of materials. It was a clear building mistake.
Brenden: The town panicked. Now came the costs.
Byberg: When we realised that the people of Hamar would have to pay over 20 million, that was not a joke. It was purely tragic.
Byberg: I have sometimes regretted that I worked so vigorously to get a diving tower.
Kraft: No-one was obligated to build it. I offered it as an idea. They wanted to realise that idea.
Byberg: I have been so embarrassed about the whole thing. It was very unpleasant.
Coucheron, local politician: Nobody was punished. There was no scapegoat.
Brenden: It was a collective mistake. Politicians, entrepreneurs, maybe the idea itself… It’s quite difficult to find one scapegoat.
The diving tower on the Koigen was finished June 10th, 2015.
The building process took seven years and cost 28 million kroner.
Man: And so I have the honour to declare this diving tower open.
Over five thousand Hamar citizens took part in the opening ceremony that became unlike any other celebration in the history of Hamar.
Byberg: Immediately after the opening, when we saw that the tower finally stood there, everything after that has been great.
Coucheron: This has actually brought Hamar some positive attention. People come in tourist buses to see the diving tower.
Kraft: One girl wrote that the wonderful diving tower is a pearl that has enriched the city.
Busterud: The diving tower is like the ugly duckling. Everyone was putting it down. But when it sits there gleaming, everyone likes it and thinks it’s incredibly beautiful.
Byberg: I was so proud I was about to burst! It’s wonderful to help make Hamar a better place to live.
