I have been running every other day or so along Akerselva river up to Maridalen Lake, which has a much-frequented pedestrian path running along its banks. Architecturally, this has been extremely valuable. Many of the buildings along this path are adaptive re-use projects constructed of brick, similar in style and site conditions to the Olympia Brewhouse renovation I am proposing for my thesis. The Akerselva path is always busy, teeming with groups of young parents pushing strollers, joggers, and mountain-bikers. I feel that the successful development of this area will be a good inspiration when considering the brewhouse's proximity to the Deshutes river, and how to best take advantage of this relationship.

From the area's history, I have learned that Akerselva river has contributed greatly to the culture and history of my neighboorhood, Torshov, and the borough overall, Sagene. The river has long been exploited for energy, powering mills and and turbines during the 18th and 19th centuries. Norway's oldest industrial building - Glads papermill - is located in Sagene, the nieghborhood next to Torshov. This area once served as Norway's "cradle of industrialism" during the mid-1800s, with establishments such as Graahs spinnery and Hjula weavery employing hundreds of workers. Small wooden houses that sprang up during the 1700s, along the streets of Maridalsveien and Sandakerveien, were supplanted by large, concrete laborers' housing during the following century.

During the latter part of the 20th century, the old industrial buildings lining Akerselva have been apaptively reused to house various IT, graphics and media companies. I look forward to drawing on the successes and failures of these during the ensuing months!