The museum lies like a crystal-clear block of ice that has slid down from the surrounding mountains.

©Marit Bendtz

©Oddleiv Apneseth

©Oddleiv Apneseth

©Stein Sandemose Baardsen

©C.F. Møller Architects

©Stein Sandemose Baardsen

©Stein Sandemose Baardsen

©Stein Sandemose Baardsen

‘The small Norwegian town of Førde draws its qualities from its interaction with the surrounding mountains, which are visible everywhere, and from Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier on the European mainland, which lies in close proximity to the town.

The town’s new museum, Sogn & Fjordane Kunstmuseum also draws upon the distinctive landscape for its architectural expression: the museum lies like a crystal-clear block of ice that has slid down from the surrounding mountains.

The crystalline form provides an asymmetrical plan solution, with varying displacements in the facade. The facade is clad in white glass with a network of angled lines, reminiscent of the fracture lines in ice. This network also defines the irregular window apertures. In the evening these lines are illuminated, so that the museum lies like a sparkling block in the middle of the town’s darkness.

Inside, visitors move upwards through the museum’s four floors of exhibition space, and at the top a panoramic view of the mountains can be enjoyed from a roof terrace that can also function as an exhibition space or stage…’

ARCHITECT: C.F. Møller Architects, Aarhus, Denmark. CLIENT: Sogn & Fjordane, Futurum AS. LOCATION: Førde, Norway. DESCRIPTION: Cultural / Art Museum. STATUS: completed. AREA: 3000 sqm. CONSTRUCTION: Åsen & Øvrelid. LANDSCAPE: Schønherr Landskab. ENGINEERS: Hjellnes Consult, Sweco AS, Nord Vest Miljø AS. PRIZES: 1st Prize in architectural competition, 2006. DATE: 2012. No part of this web site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Morfae and the copyright owner.