Best of Norway

From the Oslo Architecture Triennale to the students design projects of the UiB Design Institute, this year Norway has delivered high quality projects, designed for the collective well-being, with wood as a key element. Once again Snøhetta proves to be an important design reference, with interventions on different scales, while sporting facilities grow in popularity, from skate parks to climbing centers. Norwegian huts are always an asset, designed to maximise the spectacular Nordic landscapes. Below a selection of ten Norwegian stories.

– The sport centre designed by Dark Arkitekter AS in Oslo features a raw honesty to the selected materials, which creates variation in the surfaces and structures.

– The pine wood cabin in Hol by Norwegian architect Jon Danielsen Aarhus looks over a lake, a mountain formation and a glacier all in the same panorama.

– Tired of adding tables when friends and family would come over, Norwegian designer Marcus Voraa conceived a roll-out table that spans from 1.5 to 4 meters long.

– Designed by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter in Åndalsnes, the Norwegian Mountaineering Center interprets nature’s fantastic 
dimensions and the dramatic experience of mountaineering.

– Collaborating with the Bergen Prison, the students of the UiB Institute of Design created a furniture collection that can be easily created in the prison workshops.

– Snøhetta designed a private photographic gallery in Oslo with a raw, industrial atmosphere that doesn’t hide its archival character.

– The exhibition “Et sted å være”, at the Nasjonalmuseet – Arkitektur in Oslo, gives an account of the state of art of the Norwegian contemporary architecture from 2011 to 2016.

– Norwegian studio Various Architects designed a bicycle parking next to Lillestrøm train station: a public green rooftop made in wood, laying over a glass box, serving as a “bike hotel”.

– The temporary meeting point, designed by Eriksen Skajaa Architects together with a group of local youths is the first of a series of temporary installations in Ski, Norway.

– Lluís Alexandre, one of the Oslo Architecture Triennale 2016 After Belonging curators, recounts how architecture is an open and interdisciplinary process.

On top: Dark Arkitekter AS, Oslo skatehall, 2017. Photo Finn Ståle Felberg