contributors

MAUD RETURNS HOME PROJECT CONTRIBUTORS

TANDBERG EIENDOM AS, Asker, Norway, is a locally based building and development company and is the official initiator and also financially responsible for the MAUD RETURNS HOME project and will also be responsible for the erection of a Maud Museum in Vollen, where the Polar Ship was built in 1917 by boat builder Christian Jensen.
In addition there is an increasing number of more or less non-profit contributors to this Project, ranging from advisers on technical matters regarding the salvage operation to people who contribute with important historical information.
The Maud Returns Home Project Group welcomes anyone who wish to give their support in one or the other way or somehow contribute in the Maud Returns Home project process.

Tandberg Eiendom AS

Tandberg Eiendom AS is a privately owned family run, commercial property development company with roots in the community of Asker. This company has specialized in buying, selling, rehabilitation and construction, as well as the management of their own and other rental properties for the past 25 years. The company rents out properties for private inhabitants, businesses and parking facilities. For the past 15 years Tandberg Eiendom AS has been an active participant in the Asker property market

Since its inception in the 1980s, Tandberg Eiendom AS has focused on developing property within a framework which provides space for cultural development. The importance of maintaining and developing historical buildings and small communities which are of importance to local culture and identity has been paramount to the company’s development. The ownership of such properties as Frognerseteren and Sporten, along with a number of other historical buildings from the late 1800s in Oslo is an example of this. This can also be seen in the community of Asker where we own historical buildings and properties such as the Heggedal Factories, The old Asker power station/ Gallery Trafo, the Vollen shopping area and many central buildings in the center of downtown Asker.

Our entire “city” development focus for Asker has been based on our cultural beliefs. Preservation and development must and will go hand-in-hand. There must be space for cultural development as a natural part of the city and local picture. This made it a natural conclusion for us when we decided to offer economic support for the building of the Asker Cultural Center and the pyramid just outside at Bakerløkka. The same basic philosophy will apply in the development of Heggedal. The factory and old wooden houses will be a natural part of the town center being created there. The historical ‘identity’ will be further developed in accordance with the existing buildings. It is for this same reason that we have commenced the project known as ”Maud Returns Home” which will hopefully be successful within the next few years.

Background for the Maud Returns Home project

In early April 2011 we signed an agreement to take over Tore Sigernes’ company, ”Vollen Handelssted” for the Vollen business center area. Our stewardship of the area has matured since that time and the idea of looking into the situation surrounding the possibility of raising and returning the polar ship Maud began to take form.

The shore front below the shopping area was a part of the legacy from Sigernes and is the site for the planned placing of the Gudmundsen Boatbuilder Cabin. It seems natural to us that this should also be the perfect place for Maud and we are very keen to accomplish this. Of course, we know that it will require planning permission and that the Asker town council must have the deciding vote.

By bringing Maud back to the bay at the Vollen business center the ship will have come full circle. Maud was launched on 17 June, 1917. Our goal is to return her home and place her safely in her own museum in the water off the beach no later than 17 June 2017, for the pleasure of the general public and with all her fantastic achievements during her few years at sea and on the ice on display.

The effect of a Maud Museum on the shopping and restaurant life in the area at Vollen goes without saying. In the same way, a wooden boat museum and a Maud museum together will offer a cultural experience of considerable importance for the people of Asker as well as visitors from further afield. Our belief is that ”Destination Asker” will and must be enriched by the addition of a Maud Museum. As a large property owner in downtown Asker, Heggedal and now in Vollen, we wish to contribute toward the creation of public areas and small intimate spaces which will be attractive for shoppers, residents and businesses of all types. The main ingredients required to create lasting interest in living, shopping and running a business in the area are atmosphere, identity, cultural identity and cultural experiences. Maud will make a considerable contribution toward this goal.

This is the source of our motivation, apart from the fact that it would bring us great pleasure to be able to contribute toward bringing a ‘forgotten’ polar ship – built in Vollen – back to its former glory and honor in Vollen.