My mind still hasn’t stopped buzzing from the absolute awe of seeing the Oslo Opera House, designed by award winning Norwegian architecture firm, Snohetta.
I spent the last three days touring Oslo on a trip organized by the Norwegian Consulate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which brought five of us in the world of Canadian architecture - critics, directors of architecture schools, professors, and thinkers - to do a cultural exchange. On a programmed schedule we were ushered through Oslo seeing the architectural gems, meeting the best of the best in Norwegian architecture, meeting writers and critics, visiting the school of architecture, and having conversations - fascinating conversations - about the culture of architecture in Norway.
Each day was a diverse sampling of the architectural activities of Oslo. Our fist day started at the planning office of the city getting an understanding of the contentious waterfront development that now - seemingly catalyzed by the international success of the Opera House - giving us an understanding of the massive (and ambitious) long-term planning that the city is doing for the eleven kilometeres of their waterfront. Oddly enough, and amazingly enough, it is reminiscent of Toronto’s continual waterfront struggle, and makes you realize that it’s a struggle that all waterfront cities - whether it be a fjord, a lake, or an ocean, are dealing with how to best provide access for the public to these places, while still allowing them to fulfill their purpose and maintain the integrity of the nature. Understanding the ideology of the way architecture is built in the country, with architectural organization Norsk Form explaining the upcoming Action for Architecture agreement (being released at the end of August)- the first policy of it’s kind for the wealthy country of five million people - that will have an immense impact presumably on the way that buildings should (or should not for that matter) be constructed in the country, adding a layer of sustainability to each considered project. This was further elaborated on at the National Association of Norwegian Architects as well as at Oslo’s architecture school.
What enamored me most was the bold architectural statements that Norway makes room for in its built environment. Visiting Jensen and Skodvin’s Mortensrud Kirke - a stunning religious space that uses piled rock to create a mystical atmosphere wtihin the walls of the church - designed out of limitations, was phenomenal. Borre Skodvin (also the Head of the Institute of Architecture at AHO - The Oslo School of Architecture and Design) along with his colleague, Jan Olav Jensen further elaborated on the experience of building a religious building, and the politics around it.
What floored me most (as one can probably tell) was the Snohetta experience. We were fortunate enough to have Snohetta’s Tarald Lundevall, senior architect on the project, walk us not only over the 20,000 square foot public space on the roof of the building, but in and around the entire interior, explaining their decision to force a horizontal monumentality that set itself apart from today’s movement towards the vertical representation of it. Snohetta gears their efforts more towards the process, and as a result, comes out with a product that speaks to near perfection. The opera house, by 10 am on a weekday has a lineup of children, students, adults, seniors, waiting to get in to simply be in the space. On a weekend, the rooftop is amassed with hundreds of visitors walking its slightly textured marble surface. Concerts of 7000 are held on the surface of the opera house, and not once since it has been open to the public since April 2008, have there been attempts at vandalism on its pristine white surface.
That speaks to the respect that the community has garnered for this space - because even in its pristine splendor, it is accessible - to the entire population. The amazing power architecture wields is perfectly exemplified by spending an hour in and around this building, its again, one of those truly transformative spaces.
Snohetta is interesting in that they have won awards ranging from the Mies Vaner Rohe 2009 award to the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for Biblioteca Alexandria and are currently building high profie projects such as the WTC Memorial Museum in New York City as well as King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia’s Center for Knowledge and Culture, but yet their humility and their thoughtfulness remains intact. In touring their current exhibition of their work at the National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design with Senior Snohetta architect, SImon Ewings, he beautifully articulated their meticulous design process, elaborating on the room full of stunning products of playful experiments with material, form, symbolism and texture.
You can’t help but reflect on your personal design process when inundated with so many iterations of theirs, and aspire to draw in the same patience and thoughtfulness into every project that you take on.
Clearly aware of the need to communicate these elements of their process, Snohetta included a few principles guiding their outputs:
EXAMPLES OF ATTITUDE RATHER THAN DESIGN.
ASSOCIATIVE RATHER THAN SYMBOLIC.
COMMENTS RATHER THAN STATEMENTS.
The opera house lies right in the center of the industrial port, in the center of what presumably will be a developed, mixed use waterfront by 2020. However with the symbolic proof of the possibility of what great architecture can do, I would keep a close eye on the Oslo harborfront in the upcoming years, as it seems that the lessons of the Opera House may perhaps translate into something spectacular (a unique forecast for an urban waterfront!).
-ZE