COBE teamed up with Norwegian brewer LERVIG to design a new 11,000 m2 visitor center and brewery in the company's hometown of Stavanger. Located on a former industrial pier in the heart of the city, the forthcoming project is a milestone for LERVIG as they continue to expand their business.

Although breweries tend to be perceived as closed-off facilities, Lervig's new visitor center and brewery wants to embrace the public. The new building will have the brewery at the center, which will be surrounded by the visitor center, a 360-degree public promenade, harbor baths, a public roof garden, and the first street-food market on Norway's west coast. 

“Designed as a series of spectacular wooden arches, a large roof connects all functions of the visitor center and brewery. Drawing on the materiality of the traditional brewery halls and embracing the regions proud tradition of constructing with wood, the complex adds an iconic focal point to Stavanger’s harbour front,” COBE describes.

From above, the building looks like a large park where visitors can access and enjoy the roof garden and elevated outdoor space. The brewery can grow hops, vegetables, and fruit trees in the roof garden and then sell the produce in the visitor center.

“For years, the site serviced the offshore industry. With the new brewery, the site will reconnect with the city not only physically, but also socially,” said Dan Stubbergaard, COBE Founder and Creative Director, in a statement. “We do not envision a high building on such a prominent site – rather a low building, conceived as an urban space as much as a visitor center, tailored to celebrate city life.”