Museum building at Domkirkeodden, Hamar
Open International Competition
2021
2nd prize (300 000 NOK)
Participants: 110 teams
In collaboration with Fabel Arkitekter AS
A new museum building is to be situated on historic grounds at Domkirkeodden, adjacent two Norwegian icons of architecture; Sverre Fehns Storhamarlåven (1973) and Kjell Lunds Hamardomen (1998).
The plot consists of a green hill where the original terrain dates far back in time, and the building is organized along the topography and kept well within the building boundaries in order to preserve as much of the existing terrain as possible. The building is immersed into the terrain to reduce its scale - creating a subdued house respecting its significant neighbors, and a continuous strip of glass with varying heights forms the transition between the terrain and the denser upper part of the volume.
The house is given a simple rectangular shape free of ornament and a pitched roof that draws inspiration from both Storhamarlåven, Vernebygget and other buildings in the area. The width of the house connects the former two, while the angle of the roof is made steeper and closer to that of Storhamarlåven than the height requirements in the zoning plan suggest. The shape of the roof creates a spatially interesting interior, and forms the framework around a museum where varied room heights and different levels add an extra dimension to the experience of the visitors.
The interior of the house is characterized by rational room typologies and simple room geometries, allowing for multiple use, shared use and flexibility. The dynamics and variation of the interior spaces arise in the interplay between these smaller rooms, the enclosing volume, and the different floor levels that relate directly to the terrain on the outside.
The load-bearing system consists of an outer structure of glue-lam columns and beams, combined with internal clt walls and slabs. The outer structure is exposed in the interiors where it does not affect function or use - for example in the restaurant at the southern end, where the columns are exposed at full height and supplemented with diagonal rods supporting the glass facade. This creates an expressive and dynamic wooden construction that can be experienced in the restaurant, but also from the outside where it interacts with the exposed steel construction of Vernebygget.