ARCHITECTURE: Contemporary Norwegian Architecture 2011-16

Snøhetta, International Centre for Cave Art, Montignac-Lascaux-France, Completed 2017, llustration: Luc Boegly & Sergio Garzia, Courtesy The National Museum-ArchitectureThe exhibition “A Place to Be. Contemporary Norwegian Architecture 2011-2016”. is the 8th such exhibition since 1978, when the Norwegian Museum of Architecture (which is now part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design) organised the exhibition “10 years of Norwegian Architecture” for the first time – since then another 7such exhibitions have been held, showcasing the architecture of Norway over five-year periods.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: The National Museum-Architecture Archive

A distinctly Norwegian architecture? What building projects typify the Norwegian architectural scene of the past five years? How does the architecture reflect the ethical values and social trends in society at large? Is it possible to identify certain unifying characteristics in today’s Norwegian architecture? The exhibition “A Place to Be. Contemporary Norwegian Architecture 2011-2016”, presents a total of 25 selected projects from 2011-16 designed by Norwegian and international architects in Norway as well as foreign projects designed by Norwegian architects. As says the exhibition curator Markus Richter “The most successful projects in contemporary Norwegian architecture are noted for among other things their site-specific sensitivity, readable form, material simplicity, and awareness of the wider social context”. The exhibition focuses on five thematic categories: “Dwelling”, “Shelter”, “Transformation”, “Recreation”, and “The heart of the city”. The various projects presented under these banners differ greatly in scope, nature, and approach, but have in common that they have been selected as the most characteristic results of contemporary Norwegian architecture over the past five years. Among the projects are: A floating rental cabin along the harbourside in Oslo, co-living units with a social and sustainable profile, a memorial centre at Utøya, some of the largest urban transformations in Norwegian history, and a visitor centre for prehistoric cave paintings that gently burrows into the landscape in Lascaux, France, designed by Snøhetta. The exhibition invites the spectators to reflect over these and other issues, such as how architecture can help create belonging and protection, provide a new future for towns threatened with depopulation, establish new social structures, and improve living conditions – in short, how architecture can create good places to be both today and in the future.

Info: Curator: Markus Richter, The National Museum-Architecture, Bankplassen 3, Oslo, Duration: 9/6-19/11/17, Days & Hours: Tue-Wed & Fri 11:00-17:00, Thu 11:00-19:00, Sat-Sun 12:00-17:00, www.nasjonalmuseet.no

 

OPA FORM, Storhaugen Barn, Myrkdalen, Voss, completed 2016, Photo: Espen Folgerø, Courtesy The National Museum-Architecture
OPA FORM, Storhaugen Barn, Myrkdalen, Voss, completed 2016, Photo: Espen Folgerø, Courtesy The National Museum-Architecture

 

 

Pfelder in cooperation with Tenthaus, The Isle, Bjørvika-Oslo, completed 2013, Photo: Pfelder, Courtesy The National Museum-Architecture
Pfelder in cooperation with Tenthaus, The Isle, Bjørvika-Oslo, completed 2013, Photo: Pfelder, Courtesy The National Museum-Architecture

 

 

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, Norwegian Mountaineering Centre, Åndalsnes, Møre og Romsdal, completed: 2016, Photo: Søren Harder, Courtesy The National Museum-Architecture
Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, Norwegian Mountaineering Centre, Åndalsnes, Møre og Romsdal, completed: 2016, Photo: Søren Harder, Courtesy The National Museum-Architecture

 

 

Saunders Architecture, Inn and Studios on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada, completed 2011–2013, Photo: Bent René Synnevåg, Courtesy The National Museum-Architecture
Saunders Architecture, Inn and Studios on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada, completed 2011–2013, Photo: Bent René Synnevåg, Courtesy The National Museum-Architecture