Archinect - News

Snøhetta's high-tech Vertikal Nydalen mixed-use project opens in Oslo

2024-04-27T10:00:00-04:00

A new mixed-use project in Oslo from Snøhetta has been completed following a nine-year design and development phase that culminated in 118,400 square feet and 18 floors with restaurants, an office component, and 40 apartment units all built in.

Vertikal Nydalen is the focal point of a new town square in the Norwegian capital and features a self-sufficient climate system bolstered by PV panels, geo-wells, heat pumps, and an advanced building monitoring system that allows user feedback to inform its controls.

Image credit: Lars Petter Pettersen/Snøhetta

The project was born out of a pilot program that combined two research efforts supported by the Research Council of Norway. It focused on enhancing the building’s ventilation strategy and helping its heating/cooling systems run with little added energy at an efficiency rate of up to 2.5 times the industry’s current leading standard.

Image credit: Lars Petter Pettersen/Snøhetta

Snøhetta's Kjetil Trædal Thorsen says: "We are proud to f...

Snøhetta completes Vesterheim Commons, blending Norwegian and Midwestern cultures

2023-10-03T11:46:00-04:00

Snøhetta has completed work on the Vesterheim Commons in Decorah, Iowa. Part of Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, the new building and associated landscape seeks to “establish a new entry point and gathering space for a cultural campus.” Snøhetta served as the design architect and landscape architect for the project, with BNIM as the architect of record.

Image credit: Michael Grimm

The 8,000-square-foot building is marked on the street by a large wooden canopy inspired by boat designs. Off the street, a public reception lobby and event space “mirror the cozy and sheltered outdoor rooms of the surrounding park,” while upper-level galleries and a new digital production studio create spaces for showcasing art and artifacts.

Image credit: Michael Grimm

Image credit: Craig Dykers

Light is drawn into the lobby by a wood oculus above, while a flexible event space and new circulation areas create interior connections to Vesterhei...

Nordic 'citizen design critics' are gaining influence thanks to their online popularity

2023-08-07T18:07:00-04:00

Founded in Sweden in 2014 as a public Facebook group, [Architectural Uprising] is a collective of citizen design critics who object to what organizers call the “continued uglification” of developments in Nordic cities, and push for a return to classically informed design. [...] The movement’s size and persistence, however, has earned it a seat in the discourse. “When [historians] talk about architecture during these years, [the Architectural Uprising] will be part of that history”

A new report in Bloomberg tells of the staying power of social media-driven architectural criticism. Projects lambasted by the popular (mostly) Scandinavian group include Oslo’s new National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design by architect Klaus Schuwerk and estudio Herreros’ Munch Museum, which Oliver Wainwright also panned.

Its presence has apparently spurred Norwegian firm MAD Arkitektur’s concessions on the Sandakerveien 58 B/C renovation and other projects. Politicians in Norway have even begun reaching out for tacit endorsements in a turn mirroring the "ugly" debate in America concerning the design of federal buildings that has become a charge of late for Republicans in love with the concept of classicism in spite of its racist underpinnings and widely-critiqued past.

Inside the stunning Nordic hotel from Succession’s latest episode

2023-04-27T08:01:00-04:00

As the hit HBO series Succession reaches the midpoint of its final season, viewers of episode five’s Norwegian negotiations were treated to an architectural backdrop worthy of the show’s millions-strong audience. The Nordic eco-resort featured in the episode is in fact a seasoned pro in the film world, having previously been used as a prominent location in Alex Garland’s 2014 sci-fi thriller Ex Machina.

Still image from Succession, Series 4, Episode 5. Image credit: HBO

The building in question is the Juvet Landscape Hotel, which sits between the UNESCO world heritage Geiranger Fjord and the dramatic road and viewing point Trollstigen on the Nordic coast. Designed by Jensen & Skovdin Architects and completed in 2010, the 24-bed hotel is spread across seven minimalistic landscape rooms, two smaller ‘bird houses,’ and a four-bed ‘Skrivarstua’ or ‘Writer’s Lodge.’ Along a river bank, the hotel also features a bathhouse ...

Five rural retreats by Mork-Ulnes Architects: Your Next Employer?

2022-12-19T12:21:00-05:00

Following last week’s visit to Los Angeles-based Walker Workshop, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in California this week, where we find San Francisco-based Mork-Ulnes Architects.

Founded in 2005 by Casper Mork-Ulnes, the nimble 10-person practice operates in both San Francisco and Oslo, Norway, resulting in a portfolio that blends a “Scandinavian practicality and a Californian can-do spirit of innovation.”

The firm’s ethos and culture was further explored back in late 2020 when we sat down with Casper Mork-Ulnes as part of our Studio Snapshot series. Describing the practice as “pared-back, resourceful, and playful,” Mork-Ulnes reflected on the importance of striking a positive life-work balance in architecture.

“We encourage everyone to take time to recharge their batteries, prioritize their private lives, and spend time with their friends and families,” Mork-Ulnes t...

Nordic architects' open letter reignites scorching Autodesk criticism

2022-09-21T15:47:00-04:00

Some of Northern Europe’s leading architecture firms have signed an open letter lamenting the lack of “serious development” laden in Autodesk’s proprietary design software, an aging suite of tools the authors claim is asking usurious prices despite neglecting years of industry-wide complaints.

The letter addressed to Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost was written by the Association of Consulting Architects in Norway (AiN), the Association of Finnish Architects’ Offices (ATL), the Association of Architectural Firms in Iceland (SAMARK), and the Danish Association of Architectural Firms — each the largest professional architectural bodies in their respective Nordic home countries and representing more than 14,000 architects combined. Its contents included pointed criticisms of the multi-user license system, the incompatibility and lagging interoperability of Autodesk products to each other and to modern computing systems, and continual price gouging.

Their invective offers an update to a 202...

This bridge near Oslo will be the world's longest designed without any 2D drawings

2022-06-22T17:50:00-04:00

Like many highway projects around the world, it has been engineered to span great distances and stand strong—feats that have become so normal they’re expected as the status quo. But unlike most large-scale building projects, this bridge has been designed and constructed without any drawings.

Called the Randselva Bridge, the structure stretches 2,080 feet and stands 180 feet above ground at its highest point. It’s located near the city of Hønefoss, about 31 miles northwest of Oslo. When it opens to traffic next month, it will be the longest bridge ever constructed without 2D drawings. Instead of using traditional construction blueprints, engineering company Sweco opted to employ a BIM model that would be used and adjusted throughout every step of the bridge’s construction. The company used technology company Trimble's Tekla modeling software. Oystein Ulvestad, a BIM developer for Sweco, led the design of the project.

As part of the BIM model, each section of the structure is constructed and scanned, allowing any changes to the project to be immediately reflected in the model. This makes it easier to execute adjustments to the plan, saving both time and money. Workers would follow the updated plans using tablets and augmented reality. According to Fast Company, Ulvestad s...

Iwan Baan takes us inside the new National Museum of Norway

2022-06-10T14:07:00-04:00

Ahead of June 11th's anticipated debut of the new National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, architectural photographer Iwan Baan has traveled to Norway to preview one of the year's most important cultural projects.

His photos reveal the slate grey 587,700-square-foot vision of architect Klaus Schuwerk, whose creation is the largest of its kind in the entire Nordic region. Said to be a scale so large it is considered hard to comprehend the structure until viewed from above.

Image © Iwan Baan.

The process of consolidating disparate collections of art under one roof took time. Beginning in 2010, the new institution's hybrid collection was taken from its former home in a historic 1882 structure and reimagined inside a new 86 gallery upgrade. The new structure is joined by two preexisting 19th-century buildings that were former train stations. The addition of a rectangular, translucent volume called the Light Hall, can be found on top of the new museum structure which will...

Inside the ‘world’s most sustainable furniture factory’ designed by BIG

2022-06-02T11:53:00-04:00

Norwegian outdoor furniture manufacturer Vestre has moved into The Plus, its new factory in Magnor, Norway, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. The 75,000-square-foot (7,000-square-meter) factory was built in 18 months and claims to be the world’s most environmentally-friendly furniture factory.

Photo by Einar Aslaksen

BIG’s scheme is divided into four production areas (the Color Factory, the Wood Factory, Assembly, and Warehouse), placed in four orthogonal wings. A circular courtyard sits at the heart of the scheme, surrounded by a visitor center.

Photo by Einar Aslaksen

The factory seeks to become the first project of its kind in the world to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating. The building’s energy consumption is 60% lower than comparable factories, with 55% lower greenhouse gas emissions. A green rooftop accommodates 900 solar panels, while between 90% and 95% of the water used within the facility will be reused.

Photo by Einar Aslaksen

P...

Fentress' Norwegian Embassy restoration is a testament to the country's unique design heritage

2022-05-11T09:00:00-04:00

Fentress Architects’ AIA chapter award-winning Chancery restoration project for the Embassy of Norway has officially opened to the public, representing a first for the 42-year-old Denver-based firm.

Situated between the official Vice Presidential Residence and National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.’s Embassy Row neighborhood, the project’s scope entailed the restoration of an original structure from 1905 in addition to a 30,000-square-foot expansion aimed at making the complex more sustainable, modern, and accessible.

Photo: © Alan Karchmer / OTTO

The firm says this was all done along the guiding Norwegian principles of Handlekraft (vigor), Arbeidsglede (joy of work), Profesjonalitet (professionalism), and Åpenhet (openness).

Photo: © Alan Karchmer / OTTO

Per Fentress: “The result is a transformed Chancery comprised of three elements: a stone shell, a cocoon, and a copper-clad mass timber hull. The mass and forms of the limestone-clad stone shell are deliberately segmented and scaled ...

What's it like inside the world’s newest mass timber developments?

2022-04-20T12:46:00-04:00

Above our heads, the pillars and struts of the pergola looked like the masts of a gigantic ship—their edges rounded, like huge pencils, to diminish the force of winds that can pummel the tower. Between the heft of the wooden building and the evanescence of the fog encircling it, the atmosphere was seductively calming—as long as my mind did not linger on the metaphor of the matchbox.

The New Yorker takes us on a whirlwind tour of some of the higher-profile mass timber developments that have debuted in recent years. Stops include the future site of Henning Larsen’s Fælledby development outside Copenhagen, the Oslotre As-designed seven-story Valle Wood, and Voll Arkitekter’s 18-story, 280-foot Mjøstårnet tower near Oslo, which is now officially the world’s tallest new timber building.

Mjøstårnet’s developer Arthur Buchardt was on hand to speak to its significance relative to the future of the industry as well as the role timber building could play in his country’s changing economy.

“Most of us already live in wooden buildings — only not so tall,” he explained to reporter Rebecca Mead. “Norway is an oil nation, but the oil will end. All the politicians talk about ‘green change’ — we must do something else that must be environmentally friendly, and we must use local resources. I thought I could build something like this, as an answer.”

...

New Henning Larsen and Fabel Arkitekter-designed veterinary building, Norway's largest university building, has opened in Oslo

2022-01-27T16:52:00-05:00

The new Veterinary Building at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences at Campus Ås has officially opened in Oslo, Norway. It is the largest overall development in the university and college sector in Norway ever.

The project was developed for government real estate manager Statsbygg in cooperation with Henning Larsen, Fabel Arkitekter, Multiconsult, Link Arkitektur, and Erichsen + Horgen. It is one of the largest and most complex construction projects ever undertaken in Norway. The 63,000-square-meter (678,000-square-foot) structure is divided into eight distinct but linked buildings, uniting previously disparate resources.

The Norwegian government has set out to become one of the leading nations in education and research in biosafety and the spread of infectious diseases. This project was designed to fulfill this ambition. The facility houses biomedical research laboratories and academic facilities, split amongst the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Norwegian Veterinary...

Norway is building a salmon-inspired floating exhibition center

2022-01-27T14:59:00-05:00

The epicenter of salmon farming in Scandinavia is about to break the waves on an eye-catching new aquatic addition thanks to a creative new convention center design from Kvorning Design & Communication.

A subsidiary of the group named Marketex Marine is behind the scheme that will bequeath Norway’s spectacular Hardangerfjord with a floating exhibition hall they call the Salmon Eye. The 1,000-ton structure is only accessible by boat and is located in the middle of a commercial fishing operation run by Eide Fjordbruk. Marketex was selected for their expertise in off-shore engineering projects but says the Salmon Eye will constitute a new scale in terms of their design experience.

Image courtesy Kvorning Design & Communication

“The implementation of such a project requires the highest level of commitment from each of the participants involved, as nothing remotely similar we have constructed before,” Marketex’s Fjodor Kvitš noted in a statement. “The entire construction is a combinatio...

See Iwan Baan's new photos of the forthcoming National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo

2021-12-14T13:14:00-05:00

Noted architectural photographer Iwan Baan has shared an update about the Klaus Schuwerk-designed National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, which officially opens to the public in June of next year.

Photo: Iwan Baan. Images courtesy of the National Museum of Norway.

The museum began offering public tours of the new facilities over the summer, which constitutes a significant upgrade to the institution’s former home in a historic 19th-century building.

Photo: Iwan Baan. Images courtesy of the National Museum of Norway.

Baan’s photos showcase the Vestbanen harborfront site and new two-story structure, which will house some 5,000 pieces from the museum’s growing collection across 90 different individual rooms complete with an art library, cafe, and open-air terrace space, which offers views of the adjacent Akershus Fortress.

Photo: Iwan Baa...

Norwegian company developing 1,000-foot-tall offshore wind turbine farms that could power 80,000 homes each

2021-08-23T10:37:00-04:00

A Norwegian company is developing a new technology for floating, offshore wind turbine farms. Unlike traditional wind farms, these are organized in stacked, square grids, standing nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

The grids would stand at 1,000 feet tall, composed of multiple smaller turbines in a staggered formation atop a floating platform anchored to the ocean floor. Founded in 2017, Wind Catching Systems, in collaboration with Aibel AS as the main contractor and holding companies Ferd AS and North Energy ASA, aims to commercialize this wind catching technology.

The company claims that its grids will increase efficiency, reduce land use by 80%, and reduce production costs, allowing the system to be immediately competitive with other traditional grid prices. In addition, the team states that one wind catching unit will be able to generate five times the annual energy output of the world’s largest single turbines and could produce enough electricity for 80,000 European househol...

estudio Herreros' Munch Museum to open in October

2021-08-02T19:45:00-04:00

Spanish architecture practice estudio Herreros' long-awaited Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway is opening its doors on October 22, 2021.

Since the selection of estudio Herreros to design the museum after receiving the top prize in the Munch Museum competition in 2009, the project has faced delay after delay starting with political hurdles regarding its design and location. Additionally, the museum was set to open in the spring of 2020 but was halted due to delays in the delivery of fire and security doors and the failure of the indoor climate system to meet required standards. The Covid-19 pandemic pushed back the opening even further.

Previously on Archinect: Munch Museum opening in Oslo pushed back

The Munch Museum features the most extensive collection of works by famed Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, with over 26,700 pieces being showcased. The collection was donated to the city of Oslo upon Munch’s death. The artist’s most well-known work is The Scream.

The 13-story, 60-meter-tall ...

Norway's new National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design announces an opening for 2022

2021-06-16T12:55:00-04:00

Oslo’s new National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design finally has an opening date.

The much-anticipated project from Italian-German architect Klaus Schuwerk will open on June 11th of next year, more than a decade after being named the winner of an international competition to upgrade facilities for the 18-year-old institution located along Oslo’s historic Vestbanen harborfront.

The National Museum exterior. Photo by Annar Bjorgli

The museum will begin welcoming visitors this summer for guided tours to the new building, which will display more than 5,000 works of art in a 90-room, two-story building that features an art library, cafés, and an open-air roof terrace as part of a scheme that will also reduce the museum’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50%.

The National Museum exterior. Photo credit: Ina Wesenburg / The National Museum

The National Museum interior. Photo by Ina Wesenberg.

A new sculpture atrium will center the plan surrounded by the new exhibition hall and gallery spaces...

Snøhetta designs library-inspired pop-up store for reMarkable

2021-05-20T16:24:00-04:00

Snøhetta has designed a new type of retail experience or “a better place to think” in collaboration with Norwegian tech company reMarkable, whose next-generation paper tablet was named one of the best inventions of 2020 by Time Magazine. Responding to the rise and proliferation of online retail, Snøhetta has met the need of consumers who want to see and experience products physically. In the store, reMarkable’s acclaimed tablet can be used in an environment cultivated to truly experience the product.

The pop-up store was opened in December 2020 and sits in the middle of Oslo’s central fashion district in Øvre Slottsgate. The opening was a bold move during the pandemic, manifesting the significance of providing holistic retail experiences.

Snøhetta’s design for reMarkable. Photo by Calle Huth

“Although consumers are becoming increasingly digital in their shopping habits, especially during the pandemic, we see the value of letting our customers experience that wow moment of writing o...

Dorte Mandrup's winning museum design is a stunning cultural landmark within the Arctic Circle

2021-02-03T17:40:00-05:00

Resulting from a design competition initiated by The Whale AS back in 2019, the organization sought design proposals that created a unique experience for spectators to enjoy large underwater visitors common to the area. The site's location is a popular whale-watching site in Andenes just north of Andøya, an island in Norway 186 miles within the Arctic Circle.

After beating out other big-name firms like Snøhetta and BIG, Dorte Mandrup was named the winner. Børre Berglund, CEO of The Whale AS, expressed much praise towards the design proposal. He's shared with the press "the project from Dorte Mandrup is a clear winner [...] It is poetic and low-key and at the same time a very exciting and unusual building."

Project visual © Miir/Courtesy of Dorte Mandrup

As we enter 2021, visuals for the project have already made their rounds in the media thanks to Bergen-based studio Mir who provided visualization renders for Dorte Mandrup and the project.

Praises for the museum's seamless structur...

Picasso murals removed in Oslo despite protest

2020-07-29T14:29:00-04:00

The legal battle over the Picasso-Nesjar murals removed by the Norwegian government from the Y Block administrative building in Oslo earlier this week is escalating. The Fishermen hung on the brutalist façade while The Seagull was located in the lobby of the building, which was designed by the Norwegian architect Erling Viksjø in 1969.

Norway's controversial decision to demolish the 1960s Y-block building that was damaged by a car bomb explosion in the July 22, 2011 terrorist attack — and with it, to remove two murals created by Pablo Picasso and Carl Nesjar specifically for this building — has been generating a heated debate and legal steps for many years now.

According to The Art Newspaper, both murals are being removed this week.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adrian Bugge (@yblokkfoto.no) on Jul 28, 2020 at 12:58pm PDT

BIG designs green furniture factory in Norway

2020-07-14T13:53:00-04:00

The Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has unveiled designs for The Plus, a new furniture factory for Vestre, a Norwegian manufacturer of urban furniture. Located in the heart of the Norwegian forest, the 6,500-square-meter open production facility will double as a public 300-acre park for hiking and camping. It will also act as a landmark representing the region's mission to establish a green manufacturing industry.

All of the materials for the project were chosen based on their environmental impact. The facade will be constructed from local timber, low-carbon concrete, and recycled reinforced steel. Renewable and clean energy were key to the design principles employed in the development of the final product. The design team claims the facility will have 50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than comparable factories.

"With Vestre we have imagined a factory that is simultaneously front of house and back of house. The beauty of the factory is the clarity of its organization," said Bjarke Ingels...

Snøhetta completes pentagonal glue-lam hiking cabins in Norway

2020-06-22T14:36:00-04:00

After the original Tungestølen Tourist Cabin was destroyed by Cyclone Dagmar, a devastating windstorm that swept over Norway on Christmas 2011, glacier hikers lost a treasured destination. Luster Turlag, a local branch of the Norwegian National Trekking Association, and a small local village, came together to collect funds to rebuild and initiated an international design competition that Snøhetta won back in 2015.

Snøhetta's design consists of nine new cabins, each pentagonal in form, made with glue-lam frames, covered in sheets of cross-laminated timber (CLT), and clad in ore pine. The exterior facing walls of the cabins Have a beak-like shape to combat strong winds rising from the valley floor.

The main cabin houses a space designed for collective meals around various wooden tables. The highest point of the main cabin measures just under five meters, creating an expansive communal space fit with panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

The remaining cabins contain dorms and a...

Munch Museum opening in Oslo pushed back

2020-01-30T14:29:00-05:00

The opening of the long-awaited Munchmuseet (Munch Museum) in Oslo has been postponed until the autumn due to delays “in the building process managed by the council”, says a spokeswoman for the museum.

The anticipated June opening of the new Munch Museum in Oslo appears to have been pushed back to fall instead.

"Citing delays in the delivery of fire and security doors, as well as a failure of the indoor climate system to meet required standards, the spokeswoman says the museum is now 'adjusting plans accordingly,'" reported The Art Newspaper.

View this post on Instagram

HOLISTIC THINKING. Our double skin façades promote integrated sustainable design solutions deploying energy reduction, singular indentity and user comfort. @munchmuseum #munchmuseet photographed by @adriagoulaphoto

A post shared by estudioHerreros (@estudioherreros) on Sep 25, 2019 at 5:00am PDT

Spanish architects estudio Herreros won the international competition for the building in 2009 with their entry "Lambda."

Mayors of three Nordic capitals declare their commitment to cleaner construction site practices

2019-10-23T02:00:00-04:00

The push for cleaner construction methods to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution on building sites has increased in recent years due to the worsening climate crisis. Nations across the globe have expressed their intent in finding better solutions for addressing the negative impacts the architecture and construction industries have on the environment.

Earlier this month, the mayors of Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm made a public pledge to enact various policies and regulations to ensure the following issues are addressed. According to a press release from C40 Cities, the mayors promise to:

Purchase biofuels and emission-free machinery for the city’s own use
Demand fossil-and emission-free solutions in public procurement and city supported projects
In Oslo, all city-owned machinery and municipally-owned construction sites will operate with zero emissions by 2025

Executive director of C40 Cities, Mark Watts, shares in a statement, "The world’s cities are growing fast, wi...

BIG's art museum-bridge-sculpture hybrid The Twist opens in Norway

2019-09-20T20:08:00-04:00

Is it a bridge? Is it a sculpture? Is it a museum? BIG's slick, newly opened aluminum beam twists itself to be all of the above.

Located in Jevnaker, just north of Oslo, the spectacular The Twist design for Kistefos Museum (the Danish firm's first completed project in Norway) creates a new connection between two forested banks over the Randselva river and completes the journey through the vast Kistefos Sculpture Park.

Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu

"Visitors roaming the park’s site-specific works by international artists such as Anish Kapoor, Olafur Eliasson, Lynda Benglis Yayoi Kusama, Jeppe Hein and Fernando Botero, among others, cross The Twist to complete the art tour," explains BIG's project description.

"As a second bridge and natural extension to the park, the new museum transforms the visitor experience while doubling Kistefos’ indoor exhibition space."

Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu

"A simple twist in the building’s volume allows the bridge to lift from the lowe...

More breathtaking photos take us inside "Under," Europe's first underwater restaurant

2019-06-25T15:09:00-04:00

With the restaurant's completion in March 2019, Europe's first underwater restaurant was a highly anticipated project from none other than Norway's Snøhetta. After Archinect's coverage of the restaurant opening, we take a peek inside this one of a kind gastronomical experience. Now three months after its initial public opening, photographers Inger Marie Grini and Ivar Kvaal take us on a visual tour of Under.

Textile-covered ceiling designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with Kvadrat and their sound-absorbing acoustic panels: Kvadrat's Soft Cells. Image © Ivar Kvaal

It is quite easy to assume that upon entering the restaurant, feelings of claustrophobia may arise. However, thanks to the talents of Snøhetta's design team and design collaborators, the space is anything but confining. From the custom-made textile paneling by Kvadrat, which mimic the underwater colors of coral and sea life, to the custom made tables and seating by Hamran, every inch of the restaurant is ...

Snøhetta's underwater restaurant, first of its kind in Europe, completes

2019-03-20T14:47:00-04:00

This week, Europe's first underwater restaurant (and the largest of its kind in the world) will open its doors to its first set of diners. Guests will be treated to a 15 to 18 course set menu featuring dishes that showoff locally sourced ingredients like sea arrow grass and Norwegian berries, as well as a lot of seafood.

Photo by Ivar Kvaal.

Under, which has the dual meaning in Norwegian of "below" and "wonder," has been designed by the international firm Snøhetta, who have had a recent string of buzzed-about architectural proposals amongst which the submerged dining room has stood out prominently.

Sitting 16 feet underwater, construction for the project was an ambitiously orchestrated affair. The restaurant had to be built on a barge near the coast and then towed 600 feet to its intended location. To submerge the reinforced concrete structure, developers filled it with 450 tons of water and secured it to the sea floor with 18 anchoring points. The rather delicate and exciting feat ...

'World’s Tallest Timber Building' now officially ratified after CTBUH height criteria update

2019-03-14T18:20:00-04:00

[CTBUH] has verified the completion of Mjøstårnet, a mixed-use building in Brumunddal, Norway that now holds the unique title of the “World’s Tallest Timber Building.” At 85.4 meters, it is also the third-tallest building in Norway and the country’s tallest with mixed functions. This news coincides with the amendment of the CTBUH Height Criteria – the official guidelines upon which tall buildings are measured – to include timber as a recognized structural material.

The 18-story wooden structure Mjøstårnet (Mjøsa Tower) near Oslo, Norway popularly earned the title "World’s Tallest Timber Building" back in September 2018 when it structurally topped out. But it wasn't until a recent update of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's height criteria guidelines, that what truly constituted a 'timber' structural system was clearly defined.

The revised criteria for timber structures now requires that "both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning system must be constructed from timber. An ‘all-timber’ structure may include the use of localized non-timber connections between timber elements. A building of timber construction with a floor system of concrete planks, or concrete slab on top of timber beams, is still considered a ‘timber’ structure, as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure."

Can architecture brace itself during the Polar Vortex? Here are 5 examples of structures designed to withstand freezing temperatures

2019-02-03T10:49:00-05:00

There's no way to sugar coat it, the Polar Vortex of 2019 has aggressively hit various parts of the world. As people have braced themselves for the cold and frigid temperatures, how does the harsh cold remind us of building more resilient structures? Chicago and many other areas in the U.S. have made headlines with its reaction to the Polar Vortex. Photos and videos of snow covered roads, icicle buildings, and frozen bodies of water have graced the media. Although these record-setting temperatures in the Midwest have made a substantial impact on several people, the solution to designing thermal resilient structures is nothing new in the world of architecture.

Several architects and designers have constructed buildings that were made to withstand some of the most extreme temperatures. Places that are prone to the cold like Antarctica and Norway are home to several structures built to withstand such extremes. Below are 5 examples and descriptions of buildings that can brace the cold.

...

Snøhetta's Outdoor Care Retreats offer respite to patients at Norway's largest hospitals

2019-01-07T19:19:00-05:00

Hidden in lush forests that are within walking distance from two of Norway’s largest hospitals, the Outdoor Care Retreat is a group of secluded wooden cabins that offer patients a relaxing space to enjoy the therapeutic benefits of nature. Designed by Snøhetta on behalf of the Friluftssykehuset Foundation, the cabins let patients get a break from rigorous treatment routines. Plus, a change in environment can help long-term hospitalization feel a little more manageable.

The Friluftssykehuset Foundation initiated the Outdoor Care Retreat project and developed it with the Oslo University Hospital's Department of Psychosomatics and CL-Child Psychiatry and Snøhetta. The Norwegian Minister of Health and Care Services opened the first Outdoor Care Retreat at the Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet last June. A week later, another Outdoor Care Retreat opened near the Sørlandet Hospital Kristiansand in southern Norway.

Outdoor Car...