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.

"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."

"A simple twist in the building’s volume allows the bridge to lift from the lower, forested riverbank in the south up to the hillside area in the north. As a continuous path in the landscape, both sides of the building serve as the main entrance. From the south entry, visitors cross a 16m aluminum-clad steel bridge to reach the double-height space with a clear view to the north end, similarly linked with a 9m pedestrian bridge."

"The double-curve geometry of the museum is comprised of straight 40cm wide aluminum panels arranged like a stack of books, shifted ever so slightly in a fanning motion. The same principle is used inside with white painted 8cm wide fir slats cladding the floor, wall and ceiling as one uniform backdrop for Kistefos’ short-term Norwegian and international exhibitions. From either direction, visitors experience the twisted gallery as though walking through a camera shutter."

"On the north end, a full-height glass wall offering panoramic views to the pulp mill and river tapers while curving upwards to form a 25cm wide strip of skylight. Due to the curved form of the glass windows, the variety of daylight entering the museum creates three distinctive galleries: a wide, naturally lit gallery with panoramic views on the north side; a tall, dark gallery with artificial lighting on the south side; and, in between, a sculptural space with a twisted sliver of roof light."

"The ability to compartmentalize, divide or merge the gallery spaces create flexibility for Kistefos’ artistic programming. A glass stairway leads down to the museum’s lower level on the north river embankment, where the building’s aluminum underside becomes the ceiling for the basement and restroom area. Another full-width glass wall brings visitors even closer to the river below, enhancing the overall immersive experience of being in the idyllic woodlands outside of Oslo."

Project Details:
Size: 1000 m2 (10,764 sqft)
Project type: Invited Competition
Client: Kistefos Museum
Collaborators: AKT II, ÅF Belysning, AS Byggeanalyse, Baumetall Design, BIG Ideas, Bladt Industries, Brekke & Strand, Davis Langdon, DIFK, ECT, Element Arkitekter, Erichsen & Horgen, Fokus Rådgivning, GCAM, Grindaker, Lüchinger & Meyer, Max Fordham, MIR, Rambøll
Partners-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, David Zahle
Project Leader: Eva Seo-Andersen
Project Architect: Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard

Don't forget to take a look at the sections, floor plans, and diagrams in the image gallery below.