Project Name: National Museum for Art, Architecture and Design
Oslo, Norway
Project Size: 37,000 SM
Project Features: 6 Floors with Mezzanine Level, Exhibition Halls, Library, Studio and Workshop, Administrative Offices, Vault
Architecture: ODA–Architecture P.C.
Interior Design: ODA–Architecture P.C.

The goal of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design is to establish itself as place of international significance. The Museum will become a dynamic new complex with a vibrant national research center for excellence in the visual arts. The process for ODA in creating a new museum for this design competition, begins with breaking free of the constraints of the typical white box used for contemporary museums. This process of refining the arrangement of spaces is similar to the refinement of raw quartz found in the earth. The first step for processing the mineral physically includes crushing, flotation, and separation techniques. The white box museum is pulled apart, analyzed and reconstructed into a more performance and freedom based design. Once the dissection and floatation of the individual components are given identity, they are reorganized around a central hub, similar to a wheel of a bicycle. Distinct gallery types are molded into shape with specific proportions, lighting, and circulation requirements.