In Oslo natural light is precious, particularly in the winter months. Using the available light was therefore the driving concept for The Renzo Piano Building Workshop when designing the Tjuvholmen Icon Complex.
The roof is glazed and layered in such a way as to allow as much wintertime natural light into the museum and other buildings as possible. The light is filtered and defused to render the interiors, and exhibits naturally and with the welcome side effect of saving on electricity.
The project is composed of three discrete buildings, a gallery an office and a culture centre and is set out along a new axis that connects the city to the sea along new canals ending in a floating dock. Along this route is a new outdoor sculpture park.
The three buildings are covered by the sweeping curved roof that comes right down to the park. Other materials are few and include timber cladding a reference perhaps to the traditional buildings of historic Norwegian fishing villages such as the beautifully preserved Hanseatic buildings of Bryggen in Bergen.
The Astrup Fearnley museum is now officially open. The entire centre will provide a valuable cultural space for Oslo.
