WORLD CLASS WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT RFP 16-04 ME SUBMITTAL | MAY 2 2016

ASTRUP FEARNLEY MUSEUM
OF MODERN ART
Oslo, Norway
RPBW was commissioned to build a new home for the permanent collection of the
Astrup Fearnley Museum, a separate space for its temporary exhibitions, and an
office building with its own exhibition area for a private art collection. Three timberclad
buildings shelter under a single swooping glass roof in a newly landscaped
public sculpture garden.
A tour of the museum takes the visitor on a journey through ten rooms and includes
all three buildings. The Art Museum, on the north side of the canal that cuts
through the middle of the site, houses the Astrup Fearnley’s permanent collection
of contemporary art. This building connects at ground level underneath the main
stair and piazza on Tjuvholmen Allee, into the ground floor of the adjacent office
building, where a private art collection is displayed.
The landscaping of the surroundings was an integral part of the project. A
promenade along the waterfront links Tjuvholmen back to the city centre. The cafe,
a beach for swimming, and the sculpture park are all designed to attract a diverse
range of visitors and create a truly public space.
One of the most prominent elements of this project is the huge glass roof that
soars over the complex, linking the buildings together and giving the development
a presence on the waterfront. Its curved shape, formed by laminated wood beams,
crosses the canal between the buildings. The beams are supported by slender steel
columns, reinforced with cable rigging, which refer to the maritime character of
the site. On Skjaeret, the roof almost touches the ground. A small pond prevents
people from climbing on the glass.
The museum opened to the public on September 29, 2012.
OliverMcMillan | 38
World Class Waterfront Development Opportunity