Instead of being simply a facility for the safeguarding, display, and dissemination of the work of Edvard Munch, the building is conceived to be a dynamic hub for contemporary culture and a cohesive element for Oslo and the country at large. Designed from the stance of a critical revision of the museum typology, the vertical volume has an important role to play in the urban fabric, moving the city’s center of gravity towards its meeting with the fjord. An ascending route connects the foyer (a public space featuring recreational, commercial, cultural, and hospitality uses) to the rooftop terraces. Along the way, visitors get an idea of the project’s complexity from the complementary programs they come across: restoration rooms, administrative offices, a library, an education center, and so on. On the outside, an undulating skin of perforated aluminum with varying degrees of transparency creates an enigmatic and evanescent image, reacting to slight climate stimuli through an appearance that changes with the time of day and with the seasons. Minimal carbon footprint, sustainability, and recycling all determined the construction process, which, focused on experimentation and innovation, was an event in and of its own accord.

Photo: estudioHerreros