Snøhetta has unveiled details of their proposed new building and associated landscape for Versterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School. Titled 'The Commons,' and situated in Decorah, Iowa, the 8,000-square-foot building will serve as a “dynamic new entry point and gathering space for a cultural campus,” with spaces including a museum, folk art school, and community facilities.

For the scheme’s design, Snøhetta chose a palette of what they describe as “honest and humble materials” to reflect Norwegian craft traditions. Locally sourced brick, a wood structure, and textured concrete walls unite to create a “tactile and time-honored sensibility,” including a mass timber wood frame fabricated in Minnesota and exterior brick walls sourced from Iowa.

Externally, the scheme is defined by a wooden canopy marking the building’s main entrance, while inside, the ground-floor lobby is connected to the upper levels via a wood oculus. Flexible galleries on the upper level include state-of-the-art digital facilities and a new production studio, as well as a study room dedicated to analyzing the museum’s vast collection.

In addition to the museum building, Snøhetta’s master plan for the campus encompasses historic structures, outdoor classrooms, and revitalized commercial buildings set within a wooded landscape. The program also contains a variety of immigrant-built structures brought to the campus from across the Upper Midwest region.

“We began working with Vesterheim in 2018 to envision a campus master plan that reunites and enhances the museum and educational facilities through a memorable campus landscape,” said Snøhetta Partner Michelle Delk about the scheme. “By adding new outdoor gathering areas that extend Heritage Park to Water Street, Vesterheim Commons creates new interior and exterior public spaces where people can come together to enjoy the museum’s vibrant collections.”

Construction on the scheme began in March 2022, with Snøhetta serving as the design architect and landscape architect, and BNIM serving as the architect of record. The project is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2023.

News of the scheme comes weeks after Snøhetta completed a lantern-like maritime center in Denmark, and one month after the firm unveiled a new design for the Westchester Square Library in the Bronx. The firm has also recently shared updates on progress at their urban farm design in Hong Kong, and their revitalized garden at 550 Madison Avenue in New York.