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.

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.

Light is drawn into the lobby by a wood oculus above, while a flexible event space and new circulation areas create interior connections to Vesterheim’s Folk Art School in the adjacent Westby-Torgerson Education Center. A second-floor gallery connects to a terrace overlooking the park, supporting year-round indoor and outdoor events, while on the third floor, new digital workspaces and offices support Vesterheim's online presence.

The building is constructed using locally sourced brick, a timber structure, and textured concrete walls, with the view of linking the museum to Norwegian craft traditions “through honest and humble materials.” The mass timber frame was fabricated in Minnesota, while bricks were sourced from Iowa, part of a “long tradition of using local materials to give shape to the life and culture of Decorah.”

In addition to linking with the local economy, the materials and construction techniques draw inspiration from Norwegian culture. The timber frames and concrete footings evoke the stone foundations of the traditional Norwegian “stabbur” storehouses, while the textured concrete was inspired by the work of Erling Viksja, the architect of the Norwegian national government building, known as the Y-block. Inside, the oculus resembles Saami tents, known as “Lavvu.”

The Commons is part of a wider Snøhetta-designed master plan which sought to to create a unified campus of historic structures, outdoor classrooms, and revitalized commercial buildings set within a wooded landscape. As a result, The Commons’ outdoor classrooms and interpretive spaces are framed by diverse regional plant species intended to adapt and evolve alongside the institution’s programs.

“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 Michelle Delk, partner at Snøhetta. “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, learn traditional crafts, and exchange experiences and ideas.”

News of the scheme’s completion comes weeks after Snøhetta was named among the winners of the 2023 Houen Fund Prize by the National Museum of Oslo. In August, we reported that construction was underway on Snøhetta and Park Associati’s 1960s office renovation in Milan, while the firm’s Charlotte Mecklenburg Library officially broke ground.