Its glistening façade reflecting gently on the Oslo seafront waters in Norway, the much-awaited Munch Museum, designed by Spanish architecture firm Estudio Herreros, has just been completed and is gearing up towards its public opening on 22 October 2021. Created to host the extensive body of work of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, the building, set in the city’s growing Bjørvika district, cuts a distinctly contemporary figure, while adding a key cultural destination to the global art and architecture map.
Upon opening, the project will be the one of the world’s largest museums dedicated to a single artist. With over 26,700 works in its collection and 11 galleries to play with, the institution will, for the first time in its history, have ample space to display Munch’s work – including his large-scale murals (such as, The Sun, completed in 1909, which stretches nearly 8m). The exhibits will also include several versions of Munch’s iconic painting, The Scream.
Located a stone’s throw from another Oslo waterfront landmark, the Snøhetta-designed opera house, the museum stands 13 storeys tall. Clad in perforated, translucent aluminium that was selected specifically for its ability to reflect the colours and weather changes of the Oslo skies, its sharp-looking, geometric shape is mirrored elegantly on the fjord’s surface. Meanwhile, higher up, an outdoor terrace allows visitors to take in the landscape and the cityscape beyond. A restaurant is located on the 13th floor.
The building boasts strong sustainability ceredentials, created as part of the city’s FutureBuilt programme (an ‘Oslo-wide initiative to halve greenhouse gas emissions across the city’, explain its creators). Recycled materials were used where possible, and energy-saving techniques throughout help lower the scheme’s overall carbon footprint.
Come October, the programme of events at the museum will launch with concerts, literature readings, performance and art workshops; all this on top of the permanent and temporary exhibitions within. The aim is to embed the museum in its community and the wider new cultural district of Bjørvika around it. The first show there, ‘Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul’, is set to explore Munch’s influence on Emin.
INFORMATION
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiencesAesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternativesFrom the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
-
Berlinde De Bruyckere’s angels without faces touch down in Venice churchBelgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere’s recent archangel sculptures occupy the 16th-century white marble Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore for the Venice Biennale 2024
-
Aarestua Cabin brings old Norwegian traditions into the 21st centuryAarestua Cabin by Gartnerfuglen is a modern retreat with links to historical Norwegian traditions, and respect for its environment
-
Pioneering tablet maker reMarkable’s Oslo headquarters is a space for ‘better thinking’reMarkable’s Oslo head office, featuring areas to retreat, ruminate and collaborate, is a true workspace of the future
-
This Norway cabin was designed as a minimalist, coastal escapeThis Norway cabin by Erling Berg is made of local timber that frames its scenic Risør views through large openings and outdoor areas, creating a cool summer escape
-
This Oslo house is a suburban cabin in the woodsAn Oslo house designed like a retreat, Villa Nikkesmelle by Gartnerfuglen, offers the perfect balance between urban and rural
-
Restored former US embassy in Oslo brings Eero Saarinen’s vision into the 21st centuryThe former US embassy in Oslo by Finnish American modernist Eero Saarinen has been restored to its 20th-century glory and transformed for contemporary mixed use
-
Tommie Wilhelmsen’s cabin on Norway’s wild coast frames the experience of the landscapeTommie Wilhelmsen has completed a new cabin close to the city of Stavanger, a retreat in the heart of a historic coastal landscape
-
Aurora 2.0 is the perfect woodland retreat to take in the Northern LightsAurora 2.0 by architect Snorre Stinessen in Norway is an architectural retreat with a spectacular view of nature and the Northern Lights
-
This modest cabin is the perfect way to experience Norwegian natureA modest cabin by KIMA arkitektur in Norway makes the most of its dramatic, natural landscape through simplicity
