actwithnewairmagazine by Christin Andreassen

act with new air MAGAZINE a magazine by MMW architects of NORWAY about everything nice

MAGAZINE

act with new air MAGAZINE is a magazine by MMW architects of NORWAY For the Act With New Air exhibition in La Galerie D’architecture, Paris 2009 – 2010

14-23: the gad gallery: architecture 24-29: my love she speaks like silence: fashion 30-31: Goksøyr & martens: art 32-35: it´s in my nature: streetart & architecture 36-45: villa bakke: architecture 46-53: running wild: fashion 54-55: form vs function: design 56-59: artitecture: art & architecture 60-69: låtefoss: architecture 70-71: exploring typologies: architecture 72-77: ulland & groos: fashion 78-79: snowball editions: art 80-81: anti: design 82-91: kiss the frog: architecture 92-95: bjørn brochmann: illustration 96-99: beauty is fleeting: art 100-107: knut bry: fashion 108-111: jan skomakerstuen: art

MAGNE SAYS

Dear reader and guest! It looks effortless when Bernard Tschumi presents his latest competition proposal, or as a breeze when Jean Nouvel put’s just a little extra in to his presentation of a project. But for those of you who know this business, know that behind every line, behind every drawing, lie years of effort and training. Without comparison otherwise – the same applies to this magazine you are now holding. A great deal of work is put down to reach the finish line. And it is with sincere pleasure and pride; that we now present the exhibition and the magazine ACT WITH NEW AIR. I am so proud of the people behind this work. It is a bunch of superstars, artists, architectural nerds and design freaks, - a design and competition loving wild bunch, representing a broad expertise on all fronts. You’ll meet them all in the magazine. For those who wonder what belonging I have in this landscape, I am the average architect, who had the pleasure to lead this team for many years now. I was not particularly good in school, I have not built that many projects, nor won many competitions, but together with this group we have had 12 fun and exciting years. To run an office is a lot of “milk & butter” work and a lot of stepped hillsides to climb, but being surrounded by god people as well as crazy projects, is what makes life worth living. We have tried to produce an exhibition and magazine you can cuddle up in a sofa with and enjoy, and recommend your best friends. To be able to improve, we do need help from you, readers. Tips and pointers, are as well received as positive and negative response. Our e-mailbox is always open and never full! Write us at: mail@mmw.no . What would you like to see from us next? Who of your ”heroes” do you think we should work with? What more would you like to know about architecture and design in Norway? How

can we help you with your projects? With ACT WITH NEW AIR we have wanted to inspire you by showing a wider range of understanding towards architecture and design. Whether we like it or not, the climatic changes are unpleasant consequents of our prosperity. We have gotten increased welfare, purchasing power and consumption in addition to warmer temperatures and more rain. Greenhouse gases like CO2 fill up our atmosphere, primarily due to our use of fossil fuel to cover the needs of our lifestyle. The building industry has a great potential to really take responsibility in this mater. We are not perfect, and we have made mistakes, used wrong materials and designed inefficient technical solutions. But our goal has always been to make minimal impact on the context, to be able to reuse and to design constructions that easily can be altered or just moved. Take a look, judge for our self and stay in touch! Enjoy!

Magne Magler Wiggen, Paris Décembre 2009.

Chers lecteurs et visiteurs! Cela paraît peut être vain lorsque Bernard Tschumi présente sa dernière proposition pour un concours, ou bien une sorte de bavardage quand Jean Nouvel peaufine toujours un peu plus la présentation d’un projet. Pourtant, tous ceux qui sont de la partie, savent bien que derrière chaque ligne, chaque dessin, des années d’efforts et d’entrainement sont nécessaires. C’est sans comparaison et pourtant- il en est de même pour ce magazine que vous tenez à présent dans vos mains. Un travail intense a été fourni pour aboutir à la version finale. Et c’est avec un plaisir sincère et beaucoup de fierté que nous vous présentons cette exposition et le magazine ACT WITH NEW AIR. Je suis si fier des gens qui portent ce travail. Cette flopée de superstars, d’artistes, d’architectes et de designers acharnés, un groupe féru de concours et de design, regroupant à eux tous de larges compétences. Vous les rencontrerez en parcourant le magazine. Pour ceux qui se demandent où me situer dans ce paysage, je suis un architecte ordinaire, qui a eu le plaisir de gérer cette équipe et de coopérer avec eux pendant quelques années maintenant. Je n’étais pas spécialement doué à l’école, je n’ai pas encore beaucoup construit, ni gagné de nombreuses compétitions, mais avec ce groupe de personnes j’ai passé 12 années vraiment excitantes. Diriger une agence est un travail fastidieux, mais être entouré de personnes si précieuses et de projets fous est ce qui rend son sens à la vie. Nous avons essayé de fabriquer une exposition chaleureuse et un magazine à feuilleter confortablement installé dans un fauteuil et à recommander à vos meilleurs amis. De façon à nous améliorer, nous avons besoin de vous lecteurs. Nous sommes preneurs de tous types de critiques. Notre boîte email est toujours ouverte et jamais rassasiée ! Ecrivez-nous à mail@mmw.no.

Que désirez vous que nous vous montrions la prochaine fois? Avec lequel de vos ”héros” suggérez vous que nous collaborions? Que souhaiteriez vous savoir de l’architecture et du design en Norvège? En quoi pourrions nous vous aider dans vos projets? Avec ACT WITH NEW AIR nous avons voulu vous inspirer en vous invitant à partager notre compréhension large de l’architecture et du design. Que nous le voulions ou non, les perturbations climatiques ont des conséquences néfastes sur notre prospérité. Nous avons augmenté notre confort, notre pouvoir d’achat et créer de nouveaux besoins et par delà nous avons augmenté les températures et la pluie. Les gaz à effets de serre tels que le C02 remplit notre atmosphère et ce par l’épuisement des énergies fossiles qui ont du couvrir les besoins de notre mode de vie. L’industrie du bâtiment est grandement partie prenante dans la responsabilité de ce constat. Nous ne sommes pas parfaits, nous avons fait des erreurs, utilisé de mauvais matériaux et inventé des solutions inefficaces. Mais notre but a toujours été celui d’avoir le minimum d’impact sur le contexte, d’être capable de dessiner des constructions facilement transformables ou même mobiles. Jetez un œil et jugez-en par vous-même. Restons en contact ! Savourez!

MAGNE DIT

Magne Magler Wiggen, Paris Décembre 2009.

we are

christin malen andreassen

Christin Malen Andreassen is in charge of Art Direction and part of MMW since 2009. Former employers: Out Of Step Magazine, V Magazine in New York and freelance designer. Christin is an expert on fresh magazines and smooth fashion.

Vendel Maria Brandal

Vendel Maria Brandal is M. Arch. from Aarhus School of Architecture 2006, and part of MMW since 2005. Former employers: AART and 3xNielsen both in Aarhus. She has 3 years of experience in architecture with special focus on tourism and stage design. Vendel is an expert on waterfalls and diplomacy.

Reidun FAUSKE

Reidun Fauske is in charge of Economy and part of MMW since 1998. Former employers: JBR McCann in Oslo. She has 25 years of experience in economy, advertisement, media and communication. Reidun is an expert on fast cash and Italy. 6

Rebekka Bondesen

Rebekka Bondesen is in charge of administration and staff, and part of MMW since 2001. Former employers: The Art Club, The Theater Central, Kjell Thorheim all in Oslo. She has 20 years of experience in architecture-, art- and cultural events. Rebekka is an expert on art- & design-fairs, floorball and good friends.

Charlotte Elstad

Charlotte Elstad is very soon M. Arch. from the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, and part of MMW since 2007. Former employers: Narud Stokke Wiig in Oslo. Charlotte is an expert on Osloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s private art collector scene.

Kamilla Lang Hermansen Eirik Førde

Eirik Førde is in charge of Photography and part of MMW since 1998. Former employers: Norsk Form and Rockefeller Music Hall both in Oslo. He was MMW’s first real employee, have his own photo-studio and is MMW’s regular photographer. Eirik is an expert on sports photography and speed training.

JOAKIM SKAJAA

Joakim Skajaa is M. Arch from the Bergen School of Architecture 2004, and part of MMW since 2006. Former employers: Lund & Partnere, Saunders/Wilhelmsen, Sundt all in Bergen, Casagrande/Rintala in Helsinki and Boyarsky Murphy Architects in London. He is a part time teacher at the Oslo School of Architecture since 2007 and has 5 years of experience in architecture with special focus on break through concepts and competitions. Joakim is an expert on valuable rumors and kick starts.

Sindre Østereng

Sindre Østereng is M. Arch. from the Oslo School of Architecture and Design 1994, and part of MMW since 2001. Former employers: Einar Dahle, Jarmund/Vigsnæs, Lund Hagem, Bovim-Fuglu-Svingen and Niels Torp all in Oslo. He has 16 years of experience in architecture, project management and design. Sindre is an expert on successful constructions, Norwegian underground music and fly-fishing.

Kamilla Lang Hermansen is M. Arch. from Aarhus School of Architecture 2008, and part of MMW since 2008. Former employers: Dovista AS. Kamilla is an expert on acoustics and television studios.

Jonas Major

Jonas Major is M. Arch. from the Oslo School of Architecture and Design 2008, and part of MMW since 2009. Former employers: The Oslo School of Architecture and Design, Stiv Kuling and Ghilardi + Hellsten in Oslo. Jonas is an expert on beautiful drawings and string music.

Jannicke Spakmo

Jannicke Spakmo is soon M. Arch. from Aarhus School of Architecture, and part of MMW since 2009. Former employers: Boys of Europe. Jannicke is an expert on handling difficult clients and sports cars.

Magne Magler Wiggen

Magne Magler Wiggen is M. Arch. from the Oslo School of Architecture and Design 1993, and partner in charge of MMW since 1997. Former employers: Bernard Tschumi in New York and Niels Torp in Oslo. He is a professor at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design since 2006, and has 17 years of experience in all kinds of architecture; - both private and public. Magne is an expert on everything, - he thinks. 7

ABOUT

THE WORK OF ’’MMW’’, OR TOWARDS AN INTRODUCTION OF MOTION IN ARCHITECTURE Text by raf de saeger Rethinking the architectural morphology Recalling the way architecture could be understood as interplay between the environment and the created space, we read architectural creations in terms of walls, floors, ceilings and columns. At least that is the way architectural history teaches us to regard buildings. But what happens when the edge between ceiling and wall, between wall and floor disappears in an endless structural movement called ’a membrane’? We can no longer even refer to the certainty of well known materials that lead to a superposition of geometric surfaces in which every part has its own well defined role: The wall bears the roof, the roof covers the space, the column bears the beam, etc. In the minds of people, the tasks given to various parts implied a natural connection between a specific material and a specific part. Walls were supposed to be made of bricks, concrete or wood. Roofs had to be made of wood or steel covered by tiles.... Tradition has handed us the methods developed by so-called craftsmanship. When somebody used a material that could not naturally be linked to a specific building part, he constructed a fascinating architectural masterpiece. We can think of brickwork vaults in mediaeval townhouses and cathedrals, where these bricks become de-materialized ’floating’ pieces. Or of the houses in clay and loam you find in some desert countries, where villages become natural parts of the surrounding world and where shapeless earth becomes a tangible secret wall, giving shade to the resting place. All these examples are silent witnesses of the craftsman’s understanding of his material. 8

But what happens when the reference to a well-defined material disappears? What happens when the material is no longer graspable and we have to talk about the ’bearing-power of air’? Or further, when the bearing-power is linked to the abstract ’force’ of a ’shape’. Membrane, air and shape are all part of the architectural vocabulary, but up until now they have mainly served as historical references linked to a primary structural system as recognized in the morphological elements of floors, walls, and ceilings.... Magne Magler Wiggen and his team understood how imperative it was to redefine these words. However, their re-definition was not a result of gratuitous ’play with space and emotion’ in search of a form that would lead to the next architectural ’-ism’. Not at all, MMW has understood the basic ‘task’ architecture has to perform. What are we talking about? Let us look at some creations of his office, trying to grasp what it is all about. Motion as structuring guide We can start with the most elementary object Moebius, a seat furniture. With this object they really bring the elementary desire of the verb ‘to sit’ to life. Although sitting could be understood as a passive position of the human body resting with the support of the curved skeletal frame around which a ’skin’ is woven, here sitting is no longer reduced to a passive ’way of condition’, but is introduced into the world of ’motion’. It reminds us of traditions we can see in many masterpieces of furniture, but at the same time it blows life into the challenge of the new human condition. Sitting is no longer something we do uncon-

sciously the furniture connects the resting body to its next act of movement. In this way ’expectation’ is introduced into man’s behavior. Motion and expectation In the project Inferno emotion, function, expectation and motion are brought together. Here MMW introduces the story The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri from around 1308. It is the reference par excellence in which the transition from one world into another can be projected. Expectation as a projection of a future condition guides human motion and behavior. At this point a total world arises in which the different spaces are no longer fragmentations, understood in terms of separate boxes, but are connecting, emotional membranes. What happens in this space? In the concept of Inferno the architect has learned from the past. In this office building, work desks separated by glass walls and structured as well-ordered units along the exterior walls function as guiding rooms for the open central space. In this way, the architect creates an open landscape office, but at the same time he introduces ’a path’ along which he places four dynamic spaces. The first one is the reception desk, named Vergil. Next on this path are three meeting rooms covered by pneumatic membranes. They are rather open spaces that ’accept’ the dynamic intention of conversation. Again, this is a basic concept of motion in which persons are invited into a surrounded world where openness permits the closeness of a meeting. It seems that emotional contradictions of openness and closeness are brought

together, but that bringing together is a basic human act and becomes part of the experienced environment. It reminds me of the very existential translating ability of architecture: namely its ability to gather human desires. This also happened in the classic architectural world. In Ancient Greece philosophers taught sitting under a tree in the open landscape, while the world of the gods was strictly ordered by means of temples. The introduction of the concept of time Besides this invitation of motion, the pneumatic shapes give an extra dimension to the notion of ’time’. Time, not in terms of duration or of the hours needed to pass through a room or a landscape. Not at all, but as the projection of aspects like expectation, fascination and exploration, and this happens in the office building Inferno. People come together in these ’air bubbles’ as if they were some sort of tents. They function as ‘spaces of transition’ in which people are accepted in order to spend some time together. Inferno works as a choreographic masterpiece where the program of ’working together’ has been extended to the dimension of Heidegger’s notions about ’being together’. From architectural objects towards an architectural exploration This concept of transition, supported by the basic function of motion also seems to be the guiding theme for the architectural answers given in the private house Villa Bakke and the spatial link in the open space along the National Museum in Oslo and the open space of Tullinløkka. Especially in this last proposal, a very pronounced organic landscape of dynamic forms arises (unfortunately it was a temporal installation), bringing the surrounding classical architectural world into a confrontation with itself. To be clear, we are not talking about a confrontation between the classical architectural world and the apparently rare organic forms, but we are talking about the way this new organic shape provokes the qualities of the existing historical architecture. What has been evoked with this proposal? The existing buildings represent a certain static world. Although the public character of this existing building is that of a museum, the rooms in which people are invited to move around and look at the masterpieces of art, in fact reduce those people to static observers. With this new proposal, motion is brought into the program. The open space is not filled in with a traditional building that ‘provokes’ a predictable discussion of ’integration, ’style adjustment’ and so forth. What in fact happens is that the new shape reveals the qualities of the

pre-existing built environment. This is a result of the architect not having created a building, but a spatial condition integrated as a landscape. MMW creates a world of transition where the existing buildings no longer can be seen as mere objects in the town, but become parts of a new architectural exploration. MMW creates a new sort of interiority, not only inside the building, but, particularly outside the building. Public spaces reveal their ’interior attitude’.MMW connects rather than excluding and hiding. The fourth dimension What can we learn from this work by Magne Magler Wiggen and his team? We have learned to understand architecture in terms of interplay between morphology, typology and topology, but MMW is searching for a fourth dimension in architecture. The dimension of motion. Motion, no longer seen in terms of a guiding movement along the streets and squares of a town. Motion becomes an essential supporting part of spatial growth, which is why MMW needs new materials and new shapes. But there is more. While in architectural terms the so-called ’Stimmung’ evokes qualities of space as a sort of confirmation of how space ’touches’ the human soul, this work turns around the process. Emotions are no longer provoked as the result of a built environment, but rather they become the exploring and challenging guiding force in itself around which space grows. Emotions lead to expectations and thus they connect different worlds. Therefore we also have to re-think the notion of durability, which in architecture often has been understood merely as a material ’solidity’. In this work durability becomes a dynamic concept, confirming the creation of possibilities instead of confirming a static fact. I am not sure where this static fact will lead us, but with the dynamism of expectation dialogueguided atmospheres are certainly connected. MMW presents an invitation to man to move in this new world and to explore new ’times’.

Magne Magler Wiggen and his team understood how imperative it was to redefine these words 9

sur

L’oeuvre de “MMW” ou comment un “mouvement” se traduit en architecture Text by raf de saeger Nouvelle conception de la morphologie architecturale D’après nos souvenirs, concevoir l’architecture comme une homogénéité entre l’environnement et l’espace créé, nous faisait bien souvent traduire les créations architecturales par des termes tels que murs, sols, toits et colonnes. C’est du moins la façon dont l’histoire de l’architecture nous a appris à regarder les bâtiments. Mais qu’arrive-t-il lorsque la ligne entre toit et mur, mur et sol se réduit à un mouvement structurel infini nommé “membrane”? Nous ne pouvons même plus nous baser sur la sécurité des matériaux bien connus qui conduit à une homogénéité des surfaces géométriques qui ont chacune un rôle bien spécifique à jouer. Ainsi connaissonsnous l’image du mur supportant le toit, du toit qui recouvre toute la surface et de la colonne qui supporte la poutre. En général, nous admettons que la fonction des différents éléments est supposée être naturelle entre un matériau déterminé et un élément spécifiquement formaliste. On suppose que les murs doivent être construits en briques, en bois ou en béton. Donc les toits devront être en bois ou en métal et recouverts de tuiles ou d’ ardoise. Les traditions nous ont forgé une image stéréotypée de la façon de travailler avec les matériaux dans un métier bien déterminé. Mais quand quelqu’un utilise correctement un matériau qui, au départ, ne pouvait être directement associé à une pièce bien définie du bâtiment , nous en concluons que l’homme de métier a réalisé un travail architectural passionnant. Ainsi, prenons l’exemple des voûtes en briques des maisons des villes de l’époque moyenâgeuses et des cathédrales où les briques deviennent des éléments 10

flottants “dématérialisés” ou pensons aux maisons en argile et terre glaise de certaines régions désertiques où les villages sont visuellement absorbés dans le paysage environnant et où un tas de terre informe représente un mur fragile mais sécurisant qui donne l’ombre nécessaire pour se reposer quelques instants. Tous ces exemples sont des témoins “silencieux” de la façon dont l’homme de métier ressent l’utilisation de chaque matériau. Mais alors qu’arrive-t-il lorsqu’on ne peut plus se référer à un matériau clairement défini ? Qu’arrive-t-il si le matériau devient insaisissable en vertu de quoi nous devons parler de “force portative de l’air”? Ou plus encore, lorsque la force portative est ramenée à la force abstraite d’une “forme” ? Membrane, air et forme font partie d’un vocabulaire architectural ayant bien souvent trait aux éléments classiques bien connus tels que sol, mur et toit… Magne Magler Wiggen et son équipe ont compris l’importance de redéfinir ces conceptions. Cette redéfinition ne doit pas être conçue comme étant le résultat d’un simple jeu de mots entre ‘’espace et émotion ‘’ grâce auquel on va à la recherche d’une nouvelle et énième expression en ‘’isme’’. Bien au contraire, MMW s’est chargé de cette mission pour servir l’architecture. De quoi parle-t-on ? Pour cela, reportons-nous à certains projets que lui et son équipe ont réalisés et essayons de comprendre l’essentiel de cette nouvelle conception. Mouvement en tant que fil conducteur structurant Commençons par le siège Moebius. L’objectif élémentaire de cet objet est naturellement la fonction “assise”. Non-

obstant le fait que la fonction ”assise” pourrait impliquer une position passive du corps humain, en vertu de quoi le corps est soutenu par un cadre en métal pourvu d’un revêtement (souple)en tissu, la fonction ”assise” passe d’une situation “passive” à un monde tout en “mouvement”. “S’asseoir” n’est alors plus considéré comme quelque chose de passif et d’instinctif mais plutôt comme quelque chose qui incite le corps à se mouvoir. De cette façon, “les attentes” sont introduites dans le comportement humain. Mouvement et attente Le projet Inferno réunit émotion, fonction, attente et mouvement. Ici MMW se réfère au récit de la “Divine Comédie” de Dante Alighieri(+/- 1308). C’est un magnifique exemple représentant le passage d’un monde à un autre. Attente lorsque la projection d’une future condition accompagne le mouvement humain et son comportement. Ce projet présente un monde dans son entièreté, un monde où les divers espaces ne sont plus du tout de quelconques fragments comme on pourrait se l’imaginer près de différents containers mais où les différents espaces fonctionnent en tant que membranes tactiles obligatoires. Que se passe-t-il dans ces espaces? Dans le concept de Inferno, il ressort que l’architecte s’est beaucoup inspiré du passé. Ce complexe de bureaux comprend divers espaces de travail aux fonctions différentes, séparés par des parois en verre, parfaitement bien alignés par rapport aux murs extérieurs et jouant le rôle de salles d’accompagnement pour l’espace central libre. De cette façon, le bureau en tant qu’espace libre se transforme en un paysage au milieu

duquel l’auteur du projet a tracé un « sentier » et y a placé quatre fonctions dynamiques. La première fonction, nommée Virgile, représente la réception, puis se trouvent trois salles de réunion entourées d’une membrane pneumatique. En fait, ce sont plutôt des espaces libres où la dynamique de «s’entretenir entre nous » est permise et acceptée tout en conservant le caractère « renfermé» d’une réunion. C’est à nouveau une définition de base du « ‘mouvement « invitant les gens à organiser une réunion dans cette « ouverture » de l’espace tout en préservant le caractère « renfermé » d’une réunion. On dirait bien qu’ici les contrastes émotionnels entre « ouverture d’un espace » et « caractère renfermé » se réunissent. « L’empreinte humaine » se trouve à la base de l’homogénéité de ces deux soi-disant contraires et devient une partie « acceptable » de l’environnement. Ceci nous fait penser à la tâche la plus élémentaire et existentialiste de l’architecture c’est-à-dire la possibilité de créer pour réunir besoins humains et nécessités. C’est ce qui s’est d’ailleurs passé dans le monde architectural classique. Dans la Grèce Antique, les philosophes enseignaient sous les arbres, en plein air, et y rassemblaient les gens tandis que le monde des Dieux était parfaitement bien organisé grâce aux temples. L’introduction de la notion de temps A côté de la manière dont le mouvement le fait, les formes pneumatiques donnent également une dimension supplémentaire à la notion de « temps ». Le temps, non pas en termes d’un certain laps de temps qui est nécessaire pour se promener dans un espace ou au milieu d’un paysage. Au contraire, le temps doit être perçu d’après la façon dont attente, fascination et découverte doivent être interprétées. C’est ce que l’on perçoit dans le projet Inferno. Les gens se rassemblent dans les « bulles », comme si c’était des tentes, qui fonctionnent comme des espaces intermédiaires dans lesquels on permet et autorise les personnes à passer quelque temps ensemble. Inferno travaille en tant que chef-d’œuvre chorégraphique où le programme de « collaboration » est étendu jusqu’à la dimension de ce que Heidegger appelle« L’être-là ». D’un objet architectural à une exploration architecturale Le concept d’espaces intermédiaires, soutenus par la fonction élémentaire de « mouvement » semble aussi être le thème de base du concept architectural de la Villa Bakke et le lien entre le Musée National (Oslo) et l’espace libre derrière Tullinløkka. Dans ce dernier exemple en particulier, un paysage organique de formes dynamiques y est expressément

(mais hélas temporairement) mis en évidence incitant l’architecture classique de l’environnement à être confrontée à elle-même. Pour parler plus clairement, nous ne pensons pas ici à une confrontation de l’architecture classique avec le langage organique de l’installation mais nous parlons bien de la façon dont ces nouvelles formes organiques transmettent une nouvelle dynamique aux qualités de l’histoire existante de l’architecture. Que met en lumière cette conception? Les bâtiments existants reflètent un certain monde statique. Malgré le caractère public des bâtiments où l’on pourrait s’attendre à trouver une certaine dynamique, les visiteurs sont réduits à être des observateurs statiques. Avec cette nouvelle intervention organique, la notion de « mouvement » est intégrée dans le programme des visiteurs. L’espace libre n’est pas entièrement occupé par un bâtiment traditionnel ce qui entraînerait sans aucun doute une discussion sur « l’intégration », « l’adaptation de style », etc. Il se passe tout à fait autre chose. Le nouveau langage des formes fait apparaître les qualités cachées des bâtiments environnants déjà construits. Ce phénomène résulte du fait que l’architecte n’a pas créé de bâtiments mais il a fait passer la condition spatiale qui peut être considérée comme un paysage spatial. MMW a créé un espace intermédiaire où les bâtiments ne sont pas plus longtemps considérés comme de purs objets dans la ville mais où ils forment l’élément d’une nouvelle exploration. MMW met au point un nouvel intérieur, non seulement à l’intérieur du bâtiment mais également à l’extérieur. Les espaces publics révèlent ainsi leur « attitude intérieure » Donc MMW réunit au lieu « d’exclure » ou de « dissimuler »

tion du comment l’espace touche l’âme humaine, l’œuvre de MMW tourne autour de ce processus. Les émotions ne sont plus suscitées par l’effet produit par un environnement plein de bâtiments mais elles sont en elles-mêmes la force conductrice qui découvre et provoque, et qui permet à l’espace de pouvoir s’étendre. De cette façon, mouvement et émotion se rejoignent. Les émotions conduisent aux attentes et relient différents mondes entre eux. Nous devons donc examiner la notion de « durabilité »à partir d’un autre angle d’incidence et non plus l’interpréter par rapport à une « solidité matérielle ». Dans l’œuvre de MMW la durabilité devient un concept dynamique renforçant les possibilités et les chances pouvant confirmer un fait statique. Nous ne savons pas jusqu’où les faits statiques peuvent nous conduire mais avec le dynamisme de l’attente les mondes de « dialogue guidé » seront sûrement reliés les uns aux autres. MMW nous a adressé cette invitation pour nous permettre de nous mouvoir dans ce nouveau monde et découvrir une nouvelle notion de temps.

Moebius

La quatrième dimension Que pouvons-nous retenir de l’œuvre de MMW et de son équipe ? Le passé nous a appris à considérer l’architecture comme un ensemble entre morphologie, typologie et topologie. MMW est en réalité à la recherche de la quatrième dimension en architecture. Nous retrouvons ces points dans la dimension de mouvement. Non pas un mouvement comme on peut le concevoir lors d’une promenade guidée dans les rues ou les places d’une ville mais un mouvement devenant un élément support essentiel de la croissance de l’espace.C’est pourquoi MMW fait appel aux nouveaux matériaux et aux nouvelles formes. Mais il y a plus. Tandis qu’on évoque bien souvent par l’approche de l’architecture le »but » en tant que conception en considérant les qualités « spatiales » comme la confirma-

Inferno

Magne Magler Wiggen et son équipe ont compris l’importance de redéfinir ces conceptions 11

CONTRIBUTORS /CONNECTIONS

Steffen Aaland Steffen is a photographer based in Oslo. He has his background from University College Falmouth. Steffen is the photographer of the fabolous coverphoto as well as the whole story at page 46-53. Follow his work at www.steffenaaland.com.

Kari j. Brandtzæg Kari is a curator and art-historian with a dissertation on Russian art at the turn of the century. MMW have worked with her since 2003. For Act With New Air she have interviewed the artist Børre Sæthre for us and also written an essay about Kiss The Frog. Raf De Saeger Raf is a professor of Architecture and Urban design in Brussels. Raf have worked with MMW for years. He wrote the introduction part about MMW for Act With New Air.

Anette M. BASSO & GØRAN JOHANSEN Anette and Gøran are young and promising students at Bergen School Of Architecture and just came back to Norway after building a school in Mozambique. For Act With New Air they interviewed the talented street artist DOLK. BENEDIKTE KLUGE Benedikte is our correspondent in Berlin. She is a writer who is trying to survive in Germany. She made Out Of Step Magazine together with Christin Malen and has also written for Natt&Dag and other publications. She is a real star. STine pettersen & Thomas Ekström Stine Pettersen and Thomas Ekström graduated from UCCA with a photography degree in 2007 and 2008, respectively. They did the fashion story My Love She Speaks Like Silence from the Gad Gallery for us, This is their first collaboration. Knut Bry Knut is a big deal in the world of photography. MMW has worked with him on several occasions since the very start in 1997. For AWNA he takes us back to the 70´s and shows us the designes he made back then. Knut is a great inspiration for us, not only because of his visual work. 12

WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE SO MANY INTERESTING, old and new friends to help us out. Here are some of them

CREDITS

This magazine is made of us and all our friends. everyone who have contributed are people that have worked with or for us in the past and/or present. THANK YOU! WE could not HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!

PUBLISHER: mmw architects of norway Editor in chief: art directION: design: christin malen Andreassen www.christinmalen.com Project manager: rebekka bondesen WRITERS: CHRISTIN MALEN ANDREASSEN Anette Margrethe Basso KARI J. BRANDTZÆG RAF DE SAEGER KASHIF IQBAL Gøran Johansen BENEDIKTE KLUGE photographers: rolf m. aagaard STEFFEN AALAND CHRISTIN MALEN ANDREASSEN Frederik Arff KNUT BRY Thor Brødreskift stefano campo antico Nils Petter Dale dolk Christophe Echard THOMAS EKSTRöM EIRIK FØRDE Espen grønli JIRI HAVRAN Espen Henningsen svein hertel-aas STINE PETTERSEN Jan Skomakerstuen martin sunde skulstad Bjørnar Slensvik børre sæthre Cover photo: steffen aaland 3d letters: Kamilla Lang Hermansen

find us at www.

.no

This Magazine was published in connection with the exhibition ACT WITH NEW AIR in La Galerie d’Architecture, 11 Rue des Blancs-Manteaux, 75004 Paris, open December 12th 2009 to January 16th 2010. The exhibition was made possible due the gracious sponsoring by:

With additional support from :

Translation: Håvard Hodne Virginie Mira A special thanks to : The Norwegian Embassy in Paris Minister of Foreign Affairs Norsk Form Exhibition : Rebekka Bondesen Charlotte Elstad Kamilla Lang Hermansen Virginie Mira Jannicke Spakmo Magne Magler Wiggen mmw architects of norway : Rebekka Bondesen Sindre Østereng Vendel Maria Brandal Charlotte Elstad Reidun Fauske Eirik Førde Jonas Major Joakim Skajaa Jannicke Spakmo Magne Magler Wiggen Print: Zoom Grafisk AS, Norway

act (kt) n. 1. The process of doing or performing something: the act of thinking. 2. Something done or performed; a deed: a charitable act. 3. A product, such as a statute, decree, or enactment, resulting from a decision by a legislative or judicial body: an act of Congress. 4. A formal written record of proceedings or transactions. 5. One of the major divisions of a play or opera.

GAD Gallery

/ GAD GALLERY CollaboratorS: Rebekka Bondesen, Jon Arne Jørgensen, Siri Sverdrup Liset, Sindre Østereng, Magne Magler Wiggen Structural Engineering: Uniteam AS type of Space: mobile gallery Client: Alexandra Dyvi Total Floor Area: 258 m2 Principal Materials: Steel, Glas, Wood, Gypsum Principal Structure: Steel containers Location: Tjuvholmen, Oslo, Norway Tøyen, Oslo, Norway Period of Conception: Open from 11. November 2006 Photos: Eirik Førde Text: MMW Architects of Norway 16

GAD Gallery

GAD

Mobile exhibition GAD is based on the idea that this semi- temporary gallery, can be disassembled, moved and reassembled easily at any location, within a few days. Ten ordinary steel containers make the basis of the project. Five of them generates the ground floor, three surrounds the central first floor courtyard and the final two closes the square shaped building, giving access to the top floor balcony. Industrial ladders and stairs connect the containers, as they are a part of the main circulation system through the gallery. By designing the components to overlap only partly, the composition of the building seems light and airy, giving GAD lot`s of protected and exposed outdoor space.

The containers are insulated on the inside, and covered with sheets of plywood and sheetrock (gwb) all painted white, giving the space clean surfaces excellent for a gallery.The containers are penetrated with circular windows placed opposite each other or they have roof lights and floor- to -ceiling safety glass windows at the end of each container, that are letting large amounts of crisp northern light flow into the building. GAD is an open and extroverted unit, suitable for any environment and an exciting playground to expose art.

Ten ordinary steel containers make the basis of the project.

GAD Gallery

GAD Gallery 1: Main gallery 2: Store room 3: Project gallery 4: Terrace gallery 5:Reception 6: Office 7: Kitchen 8:Bathroom 9: Technical room 10: Roof terrace gallery

FRONT ELEVATION

BACK ELEVATION

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SECTION

7 6

5 2 FIRST FLOOR PLAN

3 SECOND FLOOR PLAN

10 THIRD FLOOR PLAN

GAD Gallery

My love she speaks like silence A fashion story from the GAD Gallery

thanks to Frøken Dianas Salonger, Velouria Vintage, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair and Princesse tam.tam.

PHOTO BY STINE PETTERSEN AND THOMAS EKSTRöM STYLING BY Emma Päiviö MODEL IS Kaja from topmodels

GOKSØYR & MARTENS goksøyr and martens have something ON THEIR HEARTS

text by goksøyr and martens Foto BY Stefano Campo Antico

Goksøyr & Martens is a performance project established in 1997 by Toril Goksøyr and Camilla Martens. They both finished their education at the National Academy of Fine Art in Oslo in the spring of 2001. Together they have produced performances for galleries, museums and theatre stages in and outside Norway. Amongst those Goksøyr & Martens has worked with

are refugees from Kosovo-Albania, a film crew, 17 couples, pupils from the Barratt Dues Music Institute, street musicians, a Swedish television gameshow host, actors from the National Theater, youths in Johannesburg, activists from different political youth organizations and Palestinian politicians.The artistic project of Goksøyr & Martens can be placed into a new

avant-garde practice where investigation on language, identity and the contemporary is central. This practice also represents an exchange between the political field and the art field. The result is aesthetics where artistic activism and political activism goes together hand in hand, and where the art object, the art institutions and the role of the artist is constantly discussed.

IT’S IN MY NATURE ...IS THE WRITING ON A CABIN-WALL DEEP IN THE WOODS, SOMEWHERE IN NORWAY

I want people to feel that it has been painted just for them

text by Gøran Johansen & Anette Margrethe Basso photos by ROLF M. AAGAARD AND DOLK

ome of us travels the world in search of great architecture. Norways most known streetartist, Dolk, travelled to the north of Norway for his love for old worn down walls, and in the suitcase, he brought the most urban phenomenon of them all. As a street-artist, working with stencils, paint and spray, the workplace is normally urban city- walls. But sometimes, opportunities beyond imagination occurs: who would have thought that two street-artist would get permission to cover several walls of old abandoned houses in a rural countryside of Norway with large scale street-art-pieces? For Dolk and his friend Pøbel, that initiated the stunt, this became reality during the summer of 2009. So, how does this affect the architecture of the place? What happens to the surrounding space? We`ve all seen street-art while walking around in the city; political, social or just for fun. You notice it, and walk past. But something different happens, when the enclosed surroundings of the urban city changes into a beautiful nature-scenery, with an endless horizon. And in comparison; doesn’t this constitute the very essence of architecture as well; the context of what we create, or build? 32

As architect-students in Norway, to work in both urban and rural space is a part of the education. To understand the living space, both abstract and definite, you need to develop tools for communicating with the surroundings. Whether it be art, performance or sketching in 1:1, it is always important to translate your thoughts into something that relates to what already is. This could also be transformed into what street-art is all about. According to Dolk, The project in Lofoten is about taking a cityscale-phenomena like street-art, and place it in a different context where high-rises turns into mountains. “An interaction with nature”, he called it. For him, the art-pieces created a whole new dimension in Lofoten, and became “something out of a fairytale”. This goes to show that street-art has as much of a punch on an abandoned farm, as on a simple city-wall. The only difference is that the pieces are more limited to the people. Dolk himself admits to have a passion for architecture, especially old buildings. As the passion has increased/grown, it has taken him around Europe to work on old walls. According to the artist, Barcelona, Lisbon and Berlin are all examples of places where these great, old walls can be found, and his pieces can be seen in all of these cities. As

Photo by Rolf M. Aagaard

Photo by DOLK

Photo by Rolf M. Aagaard

Sometimes, street-art can be as simple as a tag

architects we tend to admire the sight of an old wall or building, we interpret it as the telling of history and memories. We embrace the authenticity of it, and become almost afraid to alter it. - Old worn down buildings is like art to me, the more worn down, the better. These types of walls emphasize my work, and becomes the perfect background. Another reason for liking these walls is that they usually never get repainted, because nobody cares, Dolk states. In a way, architects and street-artists uses the concept of the background very similar. Working in three dimensions, architects need to relate their built environment to the background, and also have in mind that what you create is a background for something else, just like Dolk relates his piece to the wall. Architecture is not only volume, and space; facade, details and the share atmosphere of it, is just as important. Even though architecture and street-art has two different purposes, they both communicate through the details; what the architect wants to communicate with a facade, the street-artist sees as a background for his piece. - I have a great passion for the dirty and run-down. For instance, I find covered-up windows beautiful, and perfect canvases for street-art. Street-art can enrich architecture like a cover enriches a book or a movie. You can enrich it by giving the building an attitude or a statement, Dolk says.

When Dolk makes his statement, it is usually considered illegal, but what about architects trying to make statements within the permanent building? What makes their expressions more valid than his? And what is his motivation for expressing himself through this illegal activity? For both the architect and the street-artist; in both professions, we always need to consider for who we are doing this. -It is motivating that normal people see my work and make up their own story about it. I want people to feel that it has been painted just for them, he states. As we see it, where street-art is more ephemeral, architecture is something permanent, and should always be considered in that matter. Street-artists do not need to value the fact that their piece is everlasting, and can therefore act on their statements. In Dolks opinion, street-art is supposed to be temporary, and that is also a part of the fascination. But even though it’s temporary, good street-art can give everlasting impressions. - Sometimes, street-art can be as simple as a tag, Dolk states. “It’s in my nature”, he wrote in big letters of white paint on the small hut he discovered deep in the woods. It was covered in overgrown plants and trees in what he calls “extremely norwegian” surroundings. A simple tag with several layers of significance. Or as Dolk concludes: -This statement describes me, who I am and why I there and then felt the need to do exactly like i did.

Photo by DOLK

with (w, wth) prep. 1. In the company of; accompanying: Did you go with her? 2. Next to; alongside of: stood with the rabbi; sat with the family. 3. a. Having as a possession, attribute, or characteristic: arrived with bad news; a man with a moustache. b. Used as a function word to indicate accompanying detail or condition: just sat there with his mouth open. 4. a. In a manner characterized by: performed with skill; spoke with enthusiasm. b. In the performance, use, or operation of: had trouble with the car. 5. In the charge or keeping of: left the cat with the neighbors. 37

VILLA BAKKE

/ VILLA BAKKE CollaboratorS: Kjetil Johansen, Helle Gundersen, Kathrine Nyquist, Øyvind Schulstock, Rebekka Bondesen, Nina Edwards, Virginie Mira, Jon Arne Jørgensen, Håvard Trosterud, Sindre Østereng, Nils Petter Haugland, Hallstein Guthu, Mikael Pedersen, Jo Espen Bjerk, Astrid H. Heiberg, Eirik Førde, Tore Magler Wiggen, Magne Magler Wiggen Structural Engineering: Munthe-Kaas and Udnes AS Main constructor: Oslo Byggentreprenør AS type of Space: Privat residence Client: Jan Andreas Bakke Total Floor Area: 700 m2 Principal Materials: wood, concrete, aluminum Principal Structure: to paralLel cores, holding concrete slabs Location: Sandvika, Norway Period of Conception: 2004 Photos: Eirik Førde, Espen Grønli, Jiri Havran, Nils Petter Dale, Svein Hertel-Aas Text: MMW Architects of Norway 38

VILLA BAKKE

Rebuilding of detached house Villa Bakke is an existing villa outside Oslo originally drawn by Nissen & Bryhning architects in 1965. The client wanted the architectonic expression of both exterior and interior design to correspond to the new functions of the house and underline its flexibility. The original concept and existing materials of the villa should not interfere with the new design, but rather be integrated wherever possible. The fact that the client has an interest in art, especially sculpture, inspired the concept. The three floors of the building are supported by two parallel cores - a core of fire made in concrete, and a core of water made in aluminum. The core of fire is a minimalistic cubical block that gathers

all the fireplaces of the house. The core of water is shaped as an organic object and gathers all the bathrooms. The two cores break through the plane of the roof and become parts of the exterior: one as a bathroom with a panoramic view, and the other as an outdoor fireplace. From the bathroom you can walk out into the Zen roof garden, over to the white concrete outdoor dining area.

The three levels of building are supported by two parallel cores

In 2004 Villa Bakke recived the Norwegian Concrete Associations prize: - â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Concrete Slateâ&#x20AC;? - a prize given for aesthetically, environmentally and technically excellent use of concrete in architecture. 39

VILLA BAKKE

1 6 6 8

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2 3

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VILLA BAKKE

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1: Kitchen 2: Living area 3: Void 4: Library 5: Entrance 6: Bedroom 7: Bathroom 8: Garage 9: Swimming pool 10: Atrium 11: Media room 12: Technical room 13: Studio apartment

VILLA BAKKE

running wild in the fields of concrete

FOTO by STEFFEN AALAND STYLING by Jeanette Hoff hair and makeup by Ingrid Bruvik Model is Helen from TFM architect is Arne Eggen arkitekter as Thanks to Elisabeth & Laredo at stalldokkebjerget

FORM

we asked the designer and architect nina Asked to say a few words on the relation edwards to tell us between form and function in the Arctic Line of furniture, I would say rather than about her work. form follows function, that form and

FUNCTION Text & design by nina edwards photos by Frederik Arff & Christophe Echard

function follow each other.

The Design Process Form determines function and vice versa in a constant back and forth until I am satisfied with the design. Environment plays a significant role during the design phase. Witnessing snowy landscapes influenced the Arctic Line’s forms. Each curve or angle serves its function, such as the daybed integrated into the Twisted Sofa. The works in the collection oscillate between expressive form and practical function with the principal goal of stimulating perceptive responses. The pieces address the perceptual experiences of their users which include expectation, memory, vision and touch. Expectation The design is only interesting to me when there is the possibility that an element of surprise can be invoked in the user’s perception. This element of the unexpected happens in the working out of this play between form and function. I aim to create an element of the unexpected with minimal formal means. I employ material only as the carrier of forces. Their shapes thus acquire intrinsic organic qualities – the inevitable result of the external forces upon the material. In the cases of the Cantilever Table (it is not screwed to the floor, as some people may think) and Bird Bed, the forms give the impression of defying gravity. This may be surprising to the viewer and awaken him/her out of usual expectations and perceptual responses. Memory I make abstract references to nature in the pieces, thereby meaning to awaken memories. By hinting at natural forms (for example, the Vanity Table may recall melting ice while functioning as a bowl), a layer of reference is added which may trigger the imagination and enrich perceptual experience. The Senses The materials stimulate vision by catching light (Cantilever, Vanity tables, Bird Bed), and sense of touch through warmth and comfort (Twisted Sofa, Bird Bed).

This element of the unexpected happens in the working out of this play between form and function 55

Artitecture Norwegian artist Lars Ramberg describes his work as a form of “Social architecture” more than formal aesthetics and has an opinion or two on drawing structures.

TEXT BY BENEDIKTE KLUGE photos by studio ramberg

”There is one dimension missing in the understanding of architecture”, Lars Ramberg, Norwegian Berlin based artist exclaims. “Why do we still talk about square meters and define architecture by surface?” He aims at the standardized buildings people are supposed to live in but his point of view is not limited to that. All architecture will influence human behaviour just like art does it. Hence the drawings need to be clever; you cannot simply make something nice. Even though art differs from architecture in more than one way, there are obvious similarities. Ramberg has no problem praising exclusive pieces of architecture, like the library at Freie Universitet in Berlin or even Norwegians like A-Lab and Magne Wiggen. What makes them so appetizing to an artist like Ramberg? Not only do they dare to play a little – they have a contextual side to them too. He praises buildings where you can tell that there is a thought behind it all, although the thought itself might not be revealed. “I conceive a lot of architecture to be fashion oriented.” Not that being fashionable is wrong but Lars Ramberg would love to see architecture with a bit more self consciousness and criticism toward its own existence. He wants to be proved right in the assumption that architectural expression can do more than reflect design and trend. Luckily there is a change going on. “Young architects today have a different perception of their role as artist.” By being playful the Norwegian artist is reassured that a collective consciousness concerning aesthetics will emerge. He talks about the “identity of buildings” and refers to Jürgen Mayer H who’s constructions let the artistic touch not only decorate the façade but continue into the building. There is no need for static work: those buildings not planned to last for a millennium has a different type of dynamic to them. They are alive in the moment so to speak, and reflect 56

the presence. This is seen in the works of those who do their thinking properly and spend some hours researching. But time is a difficult issue, of course. The efficiency is making slaves out of the artistic intension. Architects can’t have the necessary preparations done, like interviewing the neighbours, peering into the future and put the essential relations into the drawings. Like ‘how will people use the construction in 40 years?’ Ramberg encourages the 4th dimension in architecture: something in motion. Constructions that change, that move, that decay and that is build with further purpose that to create icons. International questioning But what does Lars Ramberg know? His foremost famous work in his base Berlin and his personal favourite by the way, has clearly become an icon. The large lit letters on the top of the Palace of the Republic spelling ZWEIFEL (doubt) is a statement with many layers. An example of how art and architecture can melt together into a powerful statement of time and place. ”You always build monuments over things beyond all doubt” Ramberg says and made the Palats der Republik in Berlin become a monument over uncertainty and discussion. This led to interesting things. Not only did the “Palats der Zweifel” embody the anxiety that marked the German people even 20 years after the Wall fell down. The art also moved the thoughts of the average man. Because of the impact the “Palats der Zweifel” had made, the Deutsche Bundestag referred to Lars Ramberg´s work twice as a comment on “Where are we now?” Germany appreciated his artistic move on German identity, without him even being German, as they perceived him as an artist as “a person that thinks and not only makes things with his hands”. Furthermore this trust proves to him that this country is a true and transparent democracy. And it is quite important to him as a European

There is one dimension missing in the understanding of architecture

From the project LibertĂŠ 57

From the project PALAST DES ZWEIFELS (the Palace of Doubt)

because the point is: “Not only to criticize the Germans for all they have done wrong but actually credit them when they do well”. In this case take responsibility for their previous political errors. Germans even do well in giving architecture some thought. And it is reflected in the processes of constructing and deconstructing, even if the decision to tear down the Palast der Republik was a political catastrophe to Ramberg. At least it was discussed for 16 years. “Berlin had a vacuum in their architecture and has spent the last 10-15 years finding itself.” The need for renewal and optimism even if some things are lost on the way. It makes it more authentic. Taking the discussion back to his paternal country Norway, its capital Oslo can seem quite content with its architectural outline. “Architecture presents itself as quite self assured and well articulated, but can be lacking content”, Lars Ramberg says. But “(…) it’s not enough to make something good looking – you’re supposed to produce something!” The track leads directly to the sea side where great plans are sketching a new skyline. The new side of town, Bjørvika, is in a hurry to show everyone how international and modern Norway and its capital are. Strange to those who feel that one can only earn that reputation, 58

not construct it. Ramberg talks about the importance of surprising elements, something unpredictable. Some empty space, some doubt. “The doubt is the forth dimension in space.” he says. “There is importance in the resistance you get from the urban surroundings” The decision makers should be those who govern a certain sense for the social project city planning really is. “Who chooses the choosers?” Lars Ramberg asks and refers to the international competition held to decide who gets to put their signature on this Scandinavian capital. The great names within contemporary architecture are mixed in a cocktail of representatives from the municipality and Property Management on behalf of the government. These make out the jury. “Sometimes the people who set the criteria have less competence than those invited to take part in the competition.” In that case, creating great architecture is no easy business. Cost efficiency and possible pretentiousness are partly what gags the discussion about who should decide the how Oslo Culture should look like the next 150 years. Homo ludens Lars Ramberg is not all negative. The up and coming part of Oslo might not be the ghost town the sceptics predict. It’s

just a reminder that, just as art, architecture should not be a merely formal, technical project but leave room for some subculture to secure a vibrant area. “It’s important to leave room to elements that can seem destructive at the first glance because they’re not found in the architect’s plan.” Together with constructions with human motions and lives in mind, this is the success receipt that prevents a mortal blow to anything called personality. Otherwise one ends up with areas that are so thoroughly designed that you’ll slip off the surface and just slide on. And this has been the mantra through the whole conversation. A bit of dwelling never hurt anybody. It will only assure you that some thoughts are made in the process especially if the processers are those who possess competence along with some artistic quality. “Architecture shouldn’t be isolated from other forms of art or science” but is “welcome to choreograph human motion”. Where the artist is a subject in a collective society and has the opportunity to make personal statements in public space influencing minds and movements. Is architecture really too far apart from that? And as architecture influences human behaviour, it’s not inconceivable that architecture behaves a bit more human.

From the project We Intended To Sing The Love Of Danger The Habit Of Energy

new (n, ny) adj. new路er, new路est 1. Having been made or come into being only a short time ago; recent: a new law. 2. a. Still fresh: a new coat of paint. b. Never used or worn before now: a new car; a new hat. 3. Just found, discovered, or learned: new information. 4. Not previously experienced or encountered; novel or unfamiliar: ideas new to her. 5. Different from the former or the old: the new morality. 61

new

/ UPCOMING CollaboratorS: Rebekka bondesen, vendel Brandal, Joakim Skajaa, Sindre Østereng, Fredrik Haukeland, Kamilla Lang Hermansen, Charlotte Elstad, Jannicke Spakmo, Magne Magler Wiggen Landscape architect: Hege Mikkelstuen Structural Engineering Finn Erik Nilsen Geologist: Jann Atle Jensen type of Space: Reststop/ café and parking Client: National Tourist Route > Bjørn Andresen Total Floor Area: 250 m2 Parking area: approximetly 4200 M2 Principal Materials: white concrete, glass, steel, wood Principal Structure: concrete/ steel Location: Odda, Hardanger,Norway Period of Conception: expected completion is 2010-2011 Text: MMW Architects of Norway 62

new

LÅTEFOSS

Attraction center Låtefoss is situated as an entrance to the National Tourist Road regional area Hardanger, 15 km south of Odda centre. Today’s situation is characterized by traffic problems in the high season. The National Tourist Roads are located where tourists can experience the ultimate in Norwegian nature. The main activity is to step out of the car, use the senses; see, listen, smell and feel the nature. A simple, but also a rich place to experience the wilderness with clear limits from cars to nature. We want to give Låtefoss a comprehensive identity that connects architecture to the natural attractions in the area. The project highlights the topology and geology in this area by using

the dramatic nature in the architecture. The essence of the project is an organic structure flowing along the mountainside, through the terrain, rising up and becoming the space for a new visiting center. The path continues around the commercial space, making a protective hollowed shell, where the view can be experienced. This chestnut like construction meets the need of tourists on the road, with facilities as exhibition space, bathrooms, view point and of course a small café / shop. New vegetation softens the pavement, and make it blend in and become a part of the scenery.

The project wants to highlight the topology and geology in this area

The project is under development, expected completion is 2010-2011. 63

new

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FLOOR PLAN

1: Kiosk/ info 2: Kitchen 3: Technical room 4: Toilet 5: Wardrobe 6: Stock room 7: Personal entrance 8: Stay/ fireplace 9: Exhibition space 10: Viewer wall 11: Disposal room

the main activity is to step out of the car, use the senses; see, listen, smell and feel the nature.

new

Exploring typologies Text AND IMAGES by fredrik haukeland

oth “The Brewers Anatomy” and “Drive-in Industries –a leisure park for car fanatics” are projects based on a mixed use between industrial processes and leisure related programs. Through mixing programs one can develop infinity of building typologies. I have been working with industry because of its fascinating complexity, hidden processes and the way the surroundings are treated differently then in traditional architecture. Finding interaction points where the two programs could start feeding of each other has become as important part of the processes as the rest of the design. Through out my work I have used an iterative technique. Finding the project through making is exiting and exploring the projects with a variety of techniques enables it to always evolve and helps you never being bored.

“The Brewer’s Anatomy” contains all the elements of beer making; a garden for growing hops and barley, an oast and malting house, a brewery, administrative and technical spaces and, of course, a bar for consumption of beer.

The project has developed around the person of the brewer. The spaces adapt to his body shape at the same time as the brewer adapts to the brewery. 70

A long structure is linking the essential elements of the car industry together along a line. The first stop is the el-car factory situated under the high way with pit-stop service on the roof, attached show room and electrical turbines in the river.

The Oast House has characteristic rotating chimneys causing a stack effect used in the process of drying hops.

Drive-in Industries is a leisure park for car fanatics situated in Drammen, along the E18. It suggests a new use of the space which today fences off the industry from the rest of the car obsessed city. The project enables the industry to reveal itself and tell the story of the car, from birth to death. 71

ULLAND & GROOS THEY MAKE CLOTHES INSPIRED BY THE NORWEGIAN NATIONAL OUTFIT AND THE 80´S. THE 80´S ARE NEVER COMING BACK, BUT NORWEGIAN TRADITIONS ARE NOT NEAR FADING.

photo & illustration by christin malen andreassen Graphics by jon anders gaasland MAKE-up by julia lyon designers are ulland & groos Styling by ulland & groos models are Agathe Høistad Guttuhaugen & Julia lyon

SNOWBALL EDITIONS

check out www.snowballeditions.com

EVER FELT LIKE ART IS FOR THE ELITE OR COLLECTORS WITH MONEY only? SNOWBALL EDITIONS ARE CHANGING THAT CONCEPTION. WE PRESENT TO YOU, THEIR COLLECTED CALENDARS OF 2008 AND 2009.

ARTWORK BY THE ARTISTS TEXT BY CHRISTIN MALEN ANDREASSEN

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

Yngvar Larsen

Josefine Lyche

Tor Børresen

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

Marianne Hurum

JULY

Marte Johnslien

OCTOBER

Jorun Hanstvedt

Lello/Arnell

AUGUST

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

Per-Oskar Leu

For purchase, check out their website: snowballeditions.com and watch out for the 2010 calendar, releasing their first piece January 12th.

SEPTEMBER

Stian Ådlandsvik

Andreas Soma

2008 78

Snowball Editions wants to make art available for others than collectors with a lot of money. And the way to do this is art in higher editions than what usually is made. By using the web-shop to distribute the artworks and keeping the prices reasonable they make art accessible to all kinds of people with an interest in contemporary art. The age and style of the chosen artists as well as how established they are is wide in range. This makes the mix very interesting and inspiring. The 12 works from the 2008 calendar was shown in Oslo as a collection end of January 2009. The complete 2009 calendar will be shown in Rotterdam the 22nd of January 2010 and in Stockholm Art Market February 19. - 21.

Snorre Ytterstad

Bjørn Bjarre

Snowball Editions is a web-based artpublishing house established by the Norwegian artists Yngvar Larsen and Per-Oskar Leu. They promote Norwegian artists and on the 12th every month, they release a new piece by a new artist. Every piece exists in 12 copies.

2009 JANUARY

Anna Daniell

APRIL

MARIUS ENGH

JULY

FREDRIK VÆRSLEV

OCTOBER KJERSTI ANDVIG

FEBRUARY

MARKUS BRENDMOE

MAY

STEIN KOKSVIK

AUGUST

YNGVAR LARSEN

NOVEMBER

MARIANNE HURUM

MARCH

ARNE REVHEIM

JUNE

LARS MORELL

SEPTEMBER

LELLO/ARNELL

DECEMBER

ELSE MARIE HAGEN

Anti is a multi-disciplinary design agency that knows exactly what it is doing. The crew has skills and does brand identity, art direction, packaging, print, illustration, interactive design as well as art.

We believe in developing visual langu ages.

Speaking the client’s language is important to them, and they have done just that since they opened their studio in 2008. They have done work for amongst others; Tinagent, Bjørn Opsal, Norwegian Fashion Institute and their own jeans brand, called Anti Sweden. Anti Sweden is a collaboration done with american cult-illustrator Justin Bartlett who has previously done art-work and illustrations for multiple Norwegian black metal bands. The jeans are black and raw, with bright yellow buttons and a slim fit that looks better than any other swedish jeans brand we know of. The idea behind this operation is putting rebellion back into jeans and embracing the dark culture, risen from the True Norwegian Black Metal scene. “Living near the top of the world in Norway darkness is inescapable –it is everywhere. It manifests in our nature, our culture, our art, and our music – it is essential to who we are and inspire our work and attitude towards art and communication!”

ANTI TEXT BY CHRISTIN MALEN ANDREASSEN & ANTI Image by anti

Anti collects and intertwines old ideas of Norwegian estethics with their own dark thoughts. Thats what makes them a blaze of bright flame coming out of The Norwegian design-world.

air (âr) n. 1. a. A colorless, odorless, tasteless, gaseous mixture, mainly nitrogen (approximately 78 percent) and oxygen (approximately 21 percent) with lesser amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, neon, helium, and other gases. b. This mixture with varying amounts of moisture and particulate matter, enveloping the earth; the atmosphere. 2. a. The sky; the firmament. b. A giant void; nothingness: The money vanished into thin air. 3. An atmospheric movement; a breeze or wind. 4. Aircraft: send troops to Europe by air. 5. a. Public utterance; vent: gave air to their grievances. b. The electronic broadcast media: “often ridiculed . . . extremist groups on air” (Christian Science Monitor). 6. A peculiar or characteristic impression; an aura. 7. Personal bearing, appearance, or manner; mien. 83

Kiss the Frog

/ KISS THE FROG CollaboratorS: Rebekka Bondesen, Eirik Førde, Helle Gundersen, Hallstein Guthu, Svein Hertel-Aas, Jon Arne Jørgensen, Siri Sverdrup Liset, Virginie Mira, Kathrine Nyquist, Sindre Østereng, Magne Magler Wiggen Contractor: Hallmaker as, Graboplan AB Structural Engineering: Dr. Techn. Kristoffer Apeland AS by Kristoffer Apeland, Agatha Alsadi and Rolf Smetveit. Buro Happold by Steven Brown type of Space: Temporary gallery Client: The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design Total Floor Area: The Frog’s body 1,240 m2- The Harmonica: 872 m2 Principal Materials: PVC, Steel, Glass Principal Structure: Pneumatic construction Location: Tullinløkka, oslo, norway Period of Conception: Frog: 2004-2006, harmonica: 2004- still standing Photos: Eirik Førde, Jiri Havran, Martin Sunde Skulstad Text: MMW Architects of Norway 84

Kiss the Frog

kiss the frog

a temporary and a semi permanent pavilion The project emerged as a articulation of the merging of four institutions (The National Gallery, The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design and The Museum of Architecture) into the new National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, as well as being a part of the national celebration of the 100 years anniversary since the end of the union between Sweden and Norway, giving Norway status as an independent national state. The project consists of a temporary pavilion” the frog “and a new semi permanent art exhibition hall, “the harmonica”. Both are testimonies of the change to come. The Frog can, with its organic shape, be seen as an embodiment of the museums transformation, representing the ongoing reinterpretation of interdisciplinary art, challenging the boundaries between art, architecture, design and popular

culture. It is at the same time a mediator between the past and the future, connecting the old National Gallery and the new Art Hall. It is both a celebration of the new museum and the first project to manifest its ambitions for the future, exploring the aesthetics of transformation, referring to genre transcendence both as method, expression and experienc. The construction concept is based on a pneumatic principal. A self-supporting structure is erected by establishing a higher air pressure inside a space defined by a membrane, than found on the outside. Like a beach ball or an airbed, a powerful fan fills the indoor space with fresh air and keeps the construction up. The walls appear as concave planes growing out from the floor. The membrane used is a green coloured, opaque weave with a fire retardant layer. The inside has a white surface allowing projections of film, photo and digital sources to be displayed.

The construction concept is based on a pneumatic principal

The “Frog”, the architect and the museum Text BY Kari J. Brandtzæg

In 2003 Magne Magler Wiggen and his team won the assignement to construct a temporary pavilion which should signal the presence of the new National Museum of art, architecture and design in Norway. Under the working process the architectural drawings began to look more and more like a frog, and thus mmw’s design came to inspire the final title of the opening exhibition in 2005, “Kiss the Frog! The Art of Transformation”. As curator for this major national exhibition and signal event, I knew I had to reconcile institutional and aesthetic ambitions. The working title I had suggested was “the art of transformation”, which allowed me to incorporate and systematize several issues and themes. The idea was to develop four intertwining themes of transformation: There was the transformation of the relation between art and the nation from a modernist to a postmodernist point of view, the transformation of the field of aesthetics related to the inclusion of new materials and digital technology, the transformation of the museum institution, and last but not least, the transformation of the exhibition site Tullinløkka from a parking lot to a museum park. The pavilion design that Wiggen and his team had to work out, was particularly linked to the theme of institutional transformation. The new National Museum was an amalgamation of the former separate institutions for historic and contemporary art, design and architecture into one. The pavilion also had to be built in one of the city of Oslo’s ugliest and most centrally located parking lot, on the back side of the historical building for the National Gallery. Thus it was quite a challenge. But when the “Frog” opened in May 2005, it sparked a lively period in Norwegian art critism and cultural life. Nearly 120.000 people visited the “Frog” during the summer and mmw’s fantastic and innovative design was turned into a fetichized object for criticism and popular engagement. Numerous articles and debates appeared in art journals, newspapers and Internet bloggs dicussing the spectacular architecture and its connection to the new museum and signal message to rethink the relationship between art, architecture and design. 86

For me as a curator, it was important that the exhibition became spectacular and seductive. At the same time it was important to be able to dispute serious things, as for instance the role of art, new aesthetics and the role of the museum today. Far too often, society’s relationship with art is taken for granted and defined by an art elite, while indifference and alienation more often is experienced by the common museum visitors. With mmw’s playful and inviting “Frog” pavilion, the exhibition immidiately opened up for dialogue with a wider public. No doubt, the invitation to Kiss the frog! was successfully materialized in the temporary architecture.

des Nations stretched with its monumental buildings, pavilions and palaces specially designed to fit the image each nation wanted to present itself in. Together with the art and the art industry, the pavilion architecture signalized modernity at the same time as it advertized its own uniqueness. The last factor proved useful to the tourist industry that emerged in the wake of transatlantic liners and new railway tracks that were being laid through all the continents. In other words, the world fairs served as early points of connection between culture and business, which seems to be all the vogue nowadays.

The theme of transformation thus was more than a play on words and a structuring principle. And the theme of transformation has always been central to art and it goes a long way back in the history of culture. The metamorphoses of Ovid described transitions between man and nature through divine interference. Greek mythology made use of transformation and mystery to express inexplicable forces and supernatural phenomena, beings that were larger than mankind.

Like the world fairs of the past, the exhibition’s significance relied on an emphasis of institutional and political events. But the art installations on the inside of the frog were speaking for themselves, made by prominent and challenging contemporary artists Jorge Pardo, Pipilotti Rist, Elmgreen&Dragset, Ana Laura Aláez and Børre Sæthre, especially for the occasion. Their visually complex and challenging works represented both an opposition and a dialogue to the works in the old museum. The juxtapostion particularly invited to reflection over parallels and developments between the present art situation and early 20th century art discourses. In the exhibition part in the traditional National Gallery building, visitors could for instance study a reconstruction of Gerhard Munthes “Fairytale room”, often described as an early Norwegian Gesamtkunstwerk, at Holmenkollen Turisthotell in 1896. As Marshall Berman puts it: “Going back can be a way to go forward (...) remembering the modernism of the 19th century can help us gain the vision and courage to create the modernism of the 21st”.

Within the exhibition, mmw’s pavilion particularly thematize a transformation of the relations between art, architectures and the nation state. As several of the exhibited works the architectural design invited the visitors to make connections between art, fairy tales and popular culture. And the pavilion itself created a conscious link back to the first pavilions constructed during the World exhibitions. Posterity has come to regard the 1900 World Fair in Paris as the all-time greatest. Along the Seine the Rue

But to some critics, the terms Gesamtkunstwerk, total design and unified style provoke a sense of discomfort. The demand for totality and unity represents a controlling element. The unified style is something that is forced upon us, something we cannot escape, like some muggy, aesthetic nightmare. Hal Foster makes this point in his book Design and Crime. Instead of extending mans’ potential for experience and expression, the new style’s formal coercion reduced the meaning potential of the art objects to an absolute

The theme of transformation in art history The consept of kissing the frog derives from the Grimms’ fairytale The Frog Prince, a familiar and popular folk tale. To kiss a frog is to be open to the unknown, to contribute to something new and to stimulate to and encourage change. It was a theme that invited exploration and testing, and not entirely without risk. The frog could turn out to be something else...

minimum. Far from brimming with life and meaning, the style represented a futile and exhausting quest for meaning. Thus, the pairing up of design and art invites a discussion of power distribution among the disciplines. Does art lose its autonomy in confrontation with architecture and design, or is there also room for artistic development within this new and interdisciplinary aesthetic field? The transformation of the field of art In many ways mmw’s architecture, design and scenographic projects for theatres are closer to art installations than solid architecture. This worked well for the project, as the temporary pavilion architecture had to invite to an interplay with the exhibited art works and to other elements of design in the exhibition project. Thus the architecture for the “ Frog” pavilion at Tullinløkka in 2005 is a good example of what is often called “the extended aesthetic field”. Wiggen is one of the very few Norwegian architects who stretch and explore the limitations of architecture by breaching the traditional logics of place and material. As Raf de Saeger has pointed out, “Wiggen’s ideas on motion and dynamics challenge architecture’s penchant for static structures”. The extended aesthetic field in contemporary art demands an extended understanding of what art is. Ever since the 1960’s, art has moved in directions that have taken it a far way from what we normally think of as traditional art forms, such as painting and sculpture. Art has become more theoretical and conceptual, and it has hitched on to a field of discourse that includes philosophy, semiotics, media studies, structuralism and postmodernism. In the course of the 1960’s we got concept art, action art, landscape art, installation art, interactive art and performance art … all of which transgressed the restrictions of traditional art forms. The new art forms explored art’s relations to society, to the audience and to popular culture in new ways and the emergence of popular culture contributed to upset established hierarchies between high- and low culture. Television, movies and advertisements represented a completely new visual culture which soon was absorbed in to the art field. According to Hal Foster’s book Design and Crime (2002), art comes out as the loser in this situation of new interdisciplinary connections with design and architecture. The transgressions of disciplinary borders do not represent freedom, but rather a disguised version of the old Gesamtkunstwerkideas about total control. Foster argues that interdisciplinarity is a symptom of our time’s commercial totality and he warns us against flimsy solutions. Today, not only architecture and exhibitions, but everything from genes to jeans are designed, he points out in his critical catalogue essay titled Design Clichés. The alternatives, however, are not so obvious. In today’s hybrid, experimenting art field, Clement Greenberg’s old claim

that medium specificity is the ultimate goal and meaning of the art forms, loses its credibility. Foster has no desire to return to postmodern freedom, either, not even without the capitalistic dominance, and he has indicated on previous occasions that he sees a compromise in which artistic competence is decisive: “To be interdisciplinary you need to be disciplinary first - to be grounded in one discipline, preferably two, to know the historicity of these discourses before you test them against each other”. Material transformation But it is obvious that Wiggen’s pavilion design proves that there is room for creativity and autonomy even within an extended field. On the one hand there is something childish and naive about the “Frog”pavilion, as if it was some sort of overgrown rubber toy. On the other hand the material technology is so advanced that it cannot help but be associated with cutting edge modernity: Inflatable architecture has among other things been seen as the solution for submarine living units and for space stations and building structures on foreign planets. The “Frog” pavilion utilized pneumatic technology. According to Sean Topham this technology contains previously unimagined potential: “Inflatable technology can be frivolous, cheap and disposable, but it has the potential to create monumental structures and preserve whole ecosystems”. The monumental aspect lies both in the temporary architecture’s airy spaciousness and in its pompousness. The organic frog shape challenged gravity as it pushed the pavilion more in the direction of hot air balloons and grand zeppelins than in the direction of the present museum buildings situated around the site Tullinløkka. At the same time, the amphibious qualities of “the frog” gave rise to ambivalent ideas about modernity and the fragile state of the museum institution. When the technique was developed in the late fifties, it provided artists and architects with new visual possibilities. Some of the most avant-garde artists were inspired, and among them was Andy Warhol. The inflatable sculpture Silver Clouds (1966) was his contribution to America’s first Air Art Show in 1968. Inflatable works and buildings naturally

challenged the traditional idea that sculptures and installations had to be done in heavy, solid materials. Thus, the technology serves excellently as a criticism of the conventional art institution. With this new medium, artists were free to create works that were neither static, permanent or costly. Inflatable art could be moved easily, and in addition it lent itself to outdoor use in combination with natural shapes and materials in the landscape, for instance Hans Haacke’s work Sky Line (1967) consisted of enormous white balloons drifting in formation over New York’s Central Park. The new technology also inspired a new generation of architects. Their reaction towards the traditional, conformal buildings that were raised as part of the post-war restoration was a demand for innovation. In England, a group of architects joined forces and published the periodical Archigram in 1961, as an “occasional journal/manifesto of dynamic ideas for a new architecture”. Their groundbreaking, dynamic ideas incorporated pneumatic technology and plastic materials. According to Archigram, a radical architecture would have to be temporary, consumer friendly and discardable. The connection between the emerging pop art movement and the Archigram group was made manifest in the 1956 exhibition This is Tomorrow. Richard Hamilton’s work Just What is it that Makes Today’s Homes so Different, so Appealing? was particularly noticed as a conscious blurring of the distinctions between popular and elite culture. According to the Archigram group it was obvious that “lightweight, temporary structures – especially inflatable buildings – are just as valid as heavy, permanent architecture”. mmw’s pavilion architecture is in line with Archigram’s project and its exploration of evanescence. The temporary construction were surrounded by the institutional and monumental architecture of 19th century nation building. However, the inflated “Frog” pavilion that rised 13 metres up in the air offered an alternative monumentalism. The surrounding, heavy buildings preserved their dignity, but they were challenged by a new way of thinking, a new technology, a new age for the museum, the art, the design and the architecture. 87

Kiss Frog KISS THEthe FROG

The transformation of the museum In the 1880’s, establishment of museums was important for the development of the nation’s cultural identity. The museums appeared as institutions that would educate the nation. Art was meant to educate and convey, and the nation’s foundation in European culture demanded a national museum to collect antique statues and works by the most prominent national artists. The new National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo represents an institutional transformation, in part inspired and legitimated by the idea of an extended art field. Today, the range of what it is feasible to show and convey in a museum is enormously extended compared to the situation when the art institutions were originally built. They are expected to do more than merely collect and show art from time to time. For good or bad, the museums are also expected to take responsibility for conveying an experience of art. These new tasks and challenges have necessitated a rethinking of museum buildings, often leading to totally new buildings on new sites. But in these processes, the museum and the art institution often are threatened, as conscious urban planners and politicians rather regard museum buildings as profiled signatures to be used in the global marketing of their cities. A new museum architecture provides important markers for a global culture- and tourist industry. But architecture itself then comes on display, and political and aesthetic conflicts arise around building processes. This is, I believe, one of the reasons for the troubling history for Tullinløkka and the still ongoing debate concerning the new National Museum in Oslo. Even though the politicians decided in 2003 that mmws temporary pavilion was to be followed up by a new, permanent 88

building at Tullinløkka, the invitation to the architecture firms to post their designs never materialized. Instead, a new Minister of Culture have come up with a new “master plan” for several museum buildings in Oslo, abandoning Tulinløkka in favour of the Vestbanen site, located closer to the sea shore, aside of the City Hall. In a historical perspective it was not a surprise, since the Tullinløkka site has a nightmarish past as the scene of repeated architecture competitions for new museum buildings. In the mean time, the National Museum is still without a building and remains an administrative idea, rather than an aesthetic and architectural site. This summer (2009) an architectural competition was finally organised to decide what the future museum will look like on the Vestbanen site. But debate and conflict has again emerged, and the future of the planned building is far from clear. Thus, the fairy tale of the “Frog” at Tullinløkka is not yet told.

tures represented an excellent opportunity to experience and to reflect over the old museums transformation into a new museum and the complex and challenging new relations between art, design and architecture.

Which is in the spirit of many fairy tales about frogs, where transformations are always open to further interpretations and changes. This is thus also true for the story of the exhibition on Kiss the Frog! The Art of Transformation in Oslo, 2005. When architect Magne M. Wiggen got the assignment to construct the “Frog”, the transformation of the museums institutions in Oslo had just started. The temporary, amphibious character of the pavilion conveyed some of the museum’s ambiguity and fragility. At the same time the enormous blown up struc-

Footnotes: 1 This article is a revised version of my essay “The Art of Transformation” for the exhibition catalogue Kiss the Frog!The Art of Transformation, The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo 2005, p. 34–52. Other contributors for the catalogue are: Hal Foster, Marina Warner, Widar Halén, Alex Coles and Raf de Saeger. 2 See also Brita Brenna: Verden som ting og forestilling. Verdensutstillinger og den norske deltakelsen 1851-1900. Doctoral thesis, University of Oslo, 2002. 3 See Stortingsmelding no. 22 (2004–2005) Kultur og næring, Det kongelege kultur og kyrkjedepartement. 4 The show included also art works by Vanessa Baird, Tracey Emin, Frida Hansen, Tone Hansen, Petter Hepsø, Valentin Kielland, Vidar Koksvik, Yayoi Kusama, Edvard Munch, Ole Jørgen Ness, Irene Nordli, Norway Says, Lars Ramberg, Julie Skarland, Kara Walker, Magnus Wallin and Katrin Petursdottir Young. 5 Marshall Berman, “Why modernism still matters”, in Scott Lash and Jonathan Friedman (eds.) Modernity & Identity, Oxford: Blackwell, 1992, p.36. 6 Hal Foster, Design and Crime. London: Verso, 2002. 7 For instance, the design firm Norway Says was invited to design and produce a series of furniture for the exhibition’s café area in the centre of the mmw’s “Frog” pavilion. 8 Interview with Foster in Alex Cole’s Politics of interdisciplinarity, de-dis-ex, London 1998, p.162. 9 Sean Topham, “Blow up” Inflatable art, architecture and design, New York, Prestel, 2002, p.7. 10 The exhibition was a cultural and industrial reaction to the large exhibition Structures Gonflables at Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 1968. French industry has always had a soft spot for pneumatic engineering. 11 “Towards a Throwaway Architecture” Archigram, no. 3, 1963. 12 Op.cit. Topham, 2002, p. 59. 13 See Kunst og Kultur, no. 1, 2005, an issue devoted to the National Museum and Tullinløkka.

Today, only the poetic memory of the organic shape of the green “Frog” remains with me. I remember seeing it lying dead, flat and deflated on the black asphalt at Tullinløkka, the place returning again to the form of an ugly lot in the centre of Oslo. Although the enourmos and optimisticly pregnant form of the frog now was history, I could imagine how the frog would soon jump on to another place, or go into hiding, awaiting the course of events before appearing again. Transformation is an ongoing progress, in the continued struggles of the National Museum, in the interdisciplinary art field and in the ever present challenges that museum architecture are confronting us with.

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8 FLOOR PLAN

KISS THE FROG

1: The Frog 2: Atrium/ Café 3: The Harmonica Gallery 4: The National Gallery 5: Historical Museum

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1 Main Entrance: 2: Revolving Door 3: Frog Gallery 4: Exit 5: Café 6:Entrance bridge to the National Gallery 7: Entrance bridge to the Harmonica Gallery 8: The Harmonica Gallery 9:Exit Stairs 10: Elevator 11: Bathroom 12: Storage Room

SITUATION PLAN

Kiss the Frog

BJØRN BRO

Bjørn BROCHMANN is an illustrator working with the Oslo-based design studio Commando Group. Bjørn is our friend and a huge inspiration to us. This is his work. 92

PhotoRemix is an ongoing project made in cooperation with german photographer (living in Norway) Damian Heinisch.The working title is «Still here, lingering». Mountains and trolls are archetypes deeply burrowed in the Norwegian consciousness.

OCHMANN

As a consequence, the subject is exhausted commercially, especially in the marketing of Norway as a tourist destination. Packaged in dumb slogans or sold as objects in souvenir shops the trolls now feel tired and unfashionable. But as everyone who have walked in the mountains a summer night knows:

They are still here, lingering 93

They are still here, lingering. 95

Beauty is fleeting

AN interview with børre sæthre

text by av Kari J. Brandtzæg all works by børre sæthre photos by Thor Brødreskift & Børre Sæthre

he main subject of Børre Sæthres room installation beauty’s summer dead, is a dead overturned white tree besieged by 66 ravens. The installation was exhibited in the final room of “The Frog”, MMW’s exhibition pavilion at Tullinløkka in 2005. In this blacked out room the tree’s horizontal lines can vaguely be seen on the pavilions curved and oval structure, as a mythical and futuristic scenery. In retrospect Sæthre regards this installation as one of his most demanding and ambitious. Børre Sæthre is an original artist with a rare ability to work with large installations and he uses advanced materials science with subtle control to seduce his audience. With visual and often luxurious perfection his installations float in the twilight zone between fiction and dream: Carpeted floor, automated walls, fascinating sound and light effects and a futuristic interior design. Beautiful stuffed animals emerge in dreamlike, enclosed sceneries, as a melancholy reminder of innocence, sexuality and death. With several successful installations including at The Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in 2001, Galerie Loevenbruck in Paris, the Bergen Festival Exhibition 2007 and PS1 in New York in 2008 Sæthre reaches out to a wide, international audience. But it seems that the art of Børre Sæthre especially appeals to the French. He has since 2000 cooperated with the reputable Galerie Loevenbruck in Paris, and has in recent years had several exhibitions in France. Sæthre was recently represented at the well-known French art fare FIAC (Forum International Art Contemporain) with the work the trust I never dared. This work received positive mention in Le Figaro, and was purchased by the new art collection Fondation Frances à Senlis. 96

Sæthre´s art has fascinated me for a long time and he was an obvious choice for the exhibition Kiss the Frog! The Art of Transformation, an exhibition of international contemporary art I curated at the Norwegian National Gallery in 2005. In October 2009 I met up with Børre Sæthre in his studio in Oslo. The studio appeared more like a storage space and showed obvious signs of a busy artist. We immediately started to share memories from doing Kiss the Frog! The Art of Transformation and talked about the challenges Børre encountered interacting with MMW’s temporary pavilion from 2005 at Tullinløkka. Børre Sæthre: I have like Magne (mmw) always been fascinated by pneumatic structures and included pneumatic elements in several earlier works and installations. But this was of course impossible here and the physical framework forced me to think diversely related to the surroundings. But I supported the attempt to create a “museum” inside a temporary, pneumatic structure. This was a demanding dimension both for me as an artist and for the architect. KJB: You have in previous interviews emphasized your general fascination for the temporary, and in particular circuses? BS: Yes, I remember when I was a child I used to cycle down to the square the circus used for the circus tent. It only took a few hours to put up the tent, and in the evening we were taken to a magic and fantastic world. It was strange to return the next day only to find some sawdust left on the ground. These early memories of temporary and transitory structures made me particularly engaged in “The Frog”-project. It was at the same time both alluring and challenging to create an exhibition on a parking lot in an inflated temporary structure, and to make it a museal experience. I had to create something

different for the exhibition compared to my earlier work. KJB: In what way was beauty’s summer dead different? BS: During my working process with the installation some incidents occurred both personally and professionally that made me reconsider my point of view as an artist. The reality suddenly became harder. In my opinion it is important to be personal and share personal experience in your art. This had consequences for the installations conceptual and physical development. KB: Is this related to the darker atmosphere in your exhibitions lately? I believe that your lighter and more exclusive interiors with sliding doors and a chillout lounge feel is replaced with a rougher and darker expression. You have almost evolved from a Utopian sci-fi aesthetics á la 1960’s James Bond to the writer Michel Houellebecqs more dystopic themes? BS: I like that characterization. But there has also been an upsetting atmosphere in my earlier work. Similar to the pornographic a darker existentialism is more obvious materialized and exposed now. But I still have the idea that I am working on the same project over and over again, and when I finish a project I always look back to grasp what I believe I can do better next time. These cycles also reflects where you are in your life. The thought sometime occur that maybe people become more disillusioned when they reach mid-life, and statistically are closer to death. KJB: But you just turned 40! I experienced that beauty’s summer dead conveyed several themes related to beauty, suppressed lust, death and perishability. In the installation a soundtrack played William Shakespeare’s sonnet # 104:“To me fair friend, you never can be old, for as you were when first your eye I eyed, such seems your beauty still.”

The LUSTLUX Years

From Someone Who Nearly Died But Survived

Play Position

BS: This sonnet has the highest rating of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets, and I knew it had been recorded by Judy Dench. She has recorded many of the sonnets and is regarded as an outstanding Shakespeare interpreter. But it turned out to be an acoustic challenge to play a soundtrack in a pneumatic structure. Originally I intended to project the text on a globe or spherical shape circulating around the pavilions inside, but because of practical and physical changes I had to abandon this idea. KJB: Could you tell us more about how you developed the installations concept inside the pavilion’s fixed structure? BS: MMW’s pavilion encouraged everyone involved to push borders. I appreciated that, and that was my motivation for beauty’s summer dead. During the work process I search for a melancholic feeling, an atmosphere and sadness I often find in movies by Hitchcock. The general apprehension is that Hitchcock is the master of horror films, but his precisely staged scenes are basically the fat little director’s unrequited love for his beautiful muses, actresses like Kim Novak and Grace Kelly. I wanted the installation to be as perfectly directed as Hitchcock’s movies: the dead tree, the black ravens with the blinking red lights, the bright hovering helium moon and the voice of Judy Dench reading Shakespeare’s sonnet. My intention 98

was to create a longing and melancholy feeling the same way it is imparted by Hitchcock and in Shakespeare’s sonnets, but also in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem ”The Raven”. KJB: What about the formal and physical structure? BS: I prefer to work with a narrative within a physically fixed shape, and the plan from the start was that the pneumatic structure should end in my exhibition room. But when it turned out to be a passage room, I had to develop the concept as a passage work, or as a sort of ”lit de parade”, with a defiling situation as seen around ideological ”heroes” like Lenin, Mao and Ho Chi Min. It was important to direct the way audiences moved through the room. The airstrip with blinking red lights contributed in that way to create a distinction between the audience and my history. KJB: Are any of the experiences from this special exhibition important for you today, when you are approaching new aesthetic challenges? BS: The unpredictable in the exhibition situation gave us a lot of unexpected challenges. Everything had to be constructed from scratch on the parking lot, which contributed to a special symbiotic relation between the realization of the installation and the temporary architecture. None of us knew what the pavilion

would look like until it was completed. New practical and functional factors appeared constantly, factors that led to changes and alterations. And in addition we had to consider other parameters like high temperature and extreme rainfall, parameters not applicable in a “normal” exhibition room. It was a special experience that may have led to my current desire to avoid the masochism often connected to implementation of large installations. It is almost a matter of life or death before the work is concluded. KJB: Yes, it was a tough time for all of us finishing the project ... But would you say that “The Frog”-project may have led you towards creating smaller and more manageable artworks? BS: I used to be stubborn and opponent of making smaller pieces. I preferred the complexity and insisted on working on a larger scale. And possibly out of fear of not communicating a distinct message in a simple manner. I have created so many large installations that I know I master it. So I have finally concluded that it is easier with smaller artwork, regarding both implementation and logistics. But this smaller scale is also scary and requires another form of precision. You only have one line, and it need to work. It is like a punch line stripped for the exterior and scenic surroundings, or as a short poem contrary to a complex novel.

BeautyÂ´s Summer Dead

From Someone Who Nearly Died But Survived

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KNUT BRY Knut Bry makes our world go round when he brings his universe to us by showing the amazing designs he made back when he was a fashion designer, a photographer and a model. PHOTOS by KNUT BRY model is gustav TEXT by CHRISTIN MALEN ANDREASSEN

KNUT BRY TAKES US ON A JURNEY TO HIS SWEET 70´s

nut Bry is a well known fashion, advertising and artistic photographer, whose work is published in world renowned magazines like Condé Nast Traveler, Vogue, Esquire and Elle. He has received several awards for his outstanding work, amongst others “the American Photographer” in the fashion category. Bry has illustrated several books, as well as doing solo and collective exhibitions around the world. In his art work he is known for the use of color as a strong instrument, through spotlight and color filters as well as compositions where unexpected elements are introduced into the motive. He has come a long way as a photographer, but it all started when he lived in Paris in the 70´s, working as a model. It was during this period in his life he decided he wanted to create fashion himself. The breakthrough never came, but he did make his own line. It all makes sense now, 30 years later, when he blows the dust off his past and shows us his work in his own personal way. This is the symbol of what could have grown to be something exceptional and huge, but instead he chose to focus on photography and made just that happen with photography instead. It just shows us that everything is possible if you really love what you are doing.

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JAN SKOMAKERSTUEN Text by kashif iqbal photos by espen henningsen, jan skomakerstuen and bjørnar slensvik

an Skomakerstuen mainly works with installations as an expression. He strives for hard minimalist direction of the rooms, with elements taken from infrastructure, industry and architecture with extensive use of sound and light. Other important forms of expression for Jan Skomakerstuen is Land Art, - outdoor installations in and around water and improvised electronic noise. This is some of his work. Hello Jan Skomakerstuen. It’s been a long time, what have you been doing lately? Lately, Kashif? It’s been quite a few years. I was more thinking of what Jan Skomakerstuen, the artist been doing lately? Shall I tell you about this past year? Sure thing, it’s your interview mate. On the artistic level it’s been a couple of big projects the last year. I did COLLABORISM at Kunstnernes Hus. It was a big installation at approximately fifty square meters in size and heights reaching six meters. It was a project that was heavy influenced by urbane phenomena’s. I collaborated with several graffiti artists. It’s a lot of tags and a couple of big pieces. The installation is an architectonic construction. I have tried to make an experience for the audience. The installation consists of several bridges, staircases, tunnels and rooms. The design is made so the audience can walk up, down, under and over. An experience. So, basically what you are saying is that your installation is an artistic rollercoaster? An urban amusement park? Actually, that is a pretty accurate description. It sounds like a kids dream, when I was a young boy I used to dig tunnels in the snow and your installation sounds like a similar thing. How was the public’s reaction to your installation? Hahahaha Kashif, you have a really good imagination but you are right. It turned out that the kids loved the installation. For them it was a giant playground. 108

How about the “adults” reaction? Well it seems like the adults are too constrained and narrow-minded. Unlike the kids who used the installation, made it vibrant and lively, the adults never interacted with the installation. It makes the experience much more static. This is a problem with all my installations that adults don’t participate; they don’t interact with the installation. So, any new projects you are working with? I have just sold my soul to IKEA. My latest project is sculptures and installations outdoors with 130 Christmas trees. We used shitloads of Christmas accessories from IKEA and made a kind of American estetique as a main theme. Why the hell IKEA? Why it was IKEA is just a coincidence, the bottom line is that money talks. But to be fair this job was very challenging for me. I am used to work with installations that have a political agenda, antiestablishment agenda and often to be honest a wish to provoke. When I got this IKEA project it’s the complete opposite. So for me as an artist and as a person it is important to do this project. A very family oriented, cosy and extremely Christmas madness. Ok, good luck but before we go what would be your dream project? To have a big installation at TATE Modern. Why TATE? It’s an amazing architectonic building and for me it is the ultimate place for an installation for such a great installation artist that I am. Well, I hope that TATE Modern take an interest in you like IKEA have done. Yeah, that would be great. Think about it. TATE Modern uses 100.000-150.000 Pound per exhibit. To have such financial freedom and the museums great facilities is a dream. Well, I wish you good look Thank you

Pipedream

An installation project created in collaboration with Espen Henningsen. Exhibited at R.O.M for architecture and art.

Frontside Disaster

Installation built at Youngstorget in Oslo as a part of the project “Campers” that dealt with occupation of the public area through art. Different urban phenomena were the main issue also here and this time with a political twist. The lights on top of the construction were blinking saying F.R.P. S.U.G.E.R. (FRP, a Norwegian right wing political party, SUCKS) in ASCII/binary code. This installation was a collaboration project between Espen Henningsen, Petter Staff Hjulstad, Rasmus Hildonen, Hans Martin Øien, Lars Kjemphol, Petter Buhagen, Mr. Stay One, Sindre Wam and Jon Terje Eide.

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Protection

Installation that was a part of Riksutstillingers â&#x20AC;&#x153;Detoxâ&#x20AC;? project. My contribution was presented at the entrance point of all the different venues (seven in Norway and one in Iceland) where it functioned as a cue mechanism. To get in to the exhibitions the audience had to walk through a narrow swing door where they eventually got exposed to 70-80 car lights triggered by sensors. The entering visitors were filmed, and when they walked out of the installation they could watch themselves on a screen making faces from the strong lights. These pictures are from Rogaland Kunstmuseum in Stavanger.

Light and stereophonic hardcore experience

Shown at Kunstnernes Hus in 2002. This project was a remake of an installation exhibited at the same venue four years earlier. The original piece was shown for 45 minutes before the police stopped it, so because it was not documented I found it natural to make a second attempt when I got the opportunity. The second piece (on the photo) was also stopped by the police. Both of the times they claimed the sound was too loud. 110

it seems like the adults are too constrained and narrow-minded.

Collaborism

Installation shown in Høstutstillingen (The Autumn Exhibition) at Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, 2008. This project was made in collaboration with Espen Henningsen, Hans Martin Øien, Lars Erik Svenson, Hans E. Thorsen, S indre Wam and Jon Terje Eide.

“Collaborism” was an installation made by a group of artists and graffiti writers. This picture is showing a small part of the installation – a room that became emotionally quite powerful. During the installation period my ex-wife was stabbed in the back one afternoon in the middle of the street in Oslo. Before the opening she donated the clothes she was wearing when the incident occurred to be hung in the installation. In that way we managed to include another very time-specific urban phenomenon to the work.

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ÂŠ mmw.no > Drammen station > illustration: Joakim Skajaa

Drammen railway station Conversion and rehabilitation of existing station buildings. The project aims to make a new connection between the new town square and the station area. The main element in the project is an illuminated ceiling carefully guiding the visitors through the different station buildings. Client: Rom Eiendom and the Norwegian National Rail Administration

www.romeiendom.no

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Save energy with exposed concrete. Exploiting concrete’s thermal mass will reduce both energy consumption and CO2 emissions substantially. And it is a very effective way of maintaining a comfortable environment.

Ask us about it, or check: www.byggutengrenser.no

Act With New Air exhibition in La Galerie D’architecture, Paris 2009 – 2010 116