Its glistening façade reflecting gently on the Oslo seafront waters in Norway, the much-awaited Munch Museum, designed by Spanish architecture firm Estudio Herreros, has just been completed and is gearing up towards its public opening on 22 October 2021. Created to host the extensive body of work of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, the building, set in the city’s growing Bjørvika district, cuts a distinctly contemporary figure, while adding a key cultural destination to the global art and architecture map.
Upon opening, the project will be the one of the world’s largest museums dedicated to a single artist. With over 26,700 works in its collection and 11 galleries to play with, the institution will, for the first time in its history, have ample space to display Munch’s work – including his large-scale murals (such as, The Sun, completed in 1909, which stretches nearly 8m). The exhibits will also include several versions of Munch’s iconic painting, The Scream.
Located a stone’s throw from another Oslo waterfront landmark, the Snøhetta-designed opera house, the museum stands 13 storeys tall. Clad in perforated, translucent aluminium that was selected specifically for its ability to reflect the colours and weather changes of the Oslo skies, its sharp-looking, geometric shape is mirrored elegantly on the fjord’s surface. Meanwhile, higher up, an outdoor terrace allows visitors to take in the landscape and the cityscape beyond. A restaurant is located on the 13th floor.
The building boasts strong sustainability ceredentials, created as part of the city’s FutureBuilt programme (an ‘Oslo-wide initiative to halve greenhouse gas emissions across the city’, explain its creators). Recycled materials were used where possible, and energy-saving techniques throughout help lower the scheme’s overall carbon footprint.
Come October, the programme of events at the museum will launch with concerts, literature readings, performance and art workshops; all this on top of the permanent and temporary exhibitions within. The aim is to embed the museum in its community and the wider new cultural district of Bjørvika around it. The first show there, ‘Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul’, is set to explore Munch’s influence on Emin.
INFORMATION
-
What is the role of fragrance in contemporary culture, asks a new exhibition at 10 Corso ComoMilan concept store 10 Corso Como has partnered with London creative agency System Preferences to launch Olfactory Projections 01
-
Jack White's Third Man Records opens a Paris pop-upJack White's immaculately-branded record store will set up shop in the 9th arrondissement this weekend
-
Designer Marta de la Rica’s elegant Madrid studio is full of perfectly-pitched contradictionsThe studio, or ‘the laboratory’ as de la Rica and her team call it, plays with colour, texture and scale in eminently rewarding ways
-
PoMo Museum opens its colourful spaces in Trondheim’s art nouveau post officePoMo Museum is a new Trondheim art destination, featuring colourful interiors by India Mahdavi in an art nouveau post office heritage building
-
Tour this waterfront Norwegian summer house in pristine natureCabin Lillesand by architect, Lund Hagem respects and enhances its natural setting in the country's south
-
Gulbenkian Foundation's new art centre by Kengo Kuma is light and invitingLisbon's Gulbenkian Foundation reveals its redesign and new contemporary art museum, Centro de Arte Moderna (CAM), by Kengo Kuma with landscape architects VDLA
-
Kunstsilo sees a functionalist grain silo transformed into Norway’s newest art galleryKunstsilo’s crisp modern design by Mestres Wåge with Spanish firms Mendoza Partida and BAX Studio transforms a listed functionalist grain silo into a sleek art gallery
-
Aarestua Cabin brings old Norwegian traditions into the 21st centuryAarestua Cabin by Gartnerfuglen is a modern retreat with links to historical Norwegian traditions, and respect for its environment
-
Pioneering tablet maker reMarkable’s Oslo headquarters is a space for ‘better thinking’reMarkable’s Oslo head office, featuring areas to retreat, ruminate and collaborate, is a true workspace of the future
-
This Norway cabin was designed as a minimalist, coastal escapeThis Norway cabin by Erling Berg is made of local timber that frames its scenic Risør views through large openings and outdoor areas, creating a cool summer escape
-
This Oslo house is a suburban cabin in the woodsAn Oslo house designed like a retreat, Villa Nikkesmelle by Gartnerfuglen, offers the perfect balance between urban and rural
