The Twist, an inhabitable bridge torqued at its center that winds over the Randselva river in Norway, both acts as a piece of infrastructure to connect two riverbanks in northern Europe’s largest sculpture park and doubles the Kistefos Museum’s indoor exhibition space.
The structure is conceived as a beam warped 90 degrees near the middle to create a sculptural form as it spans the Randselva. The twist in the building’s volume allows the bridge to lift from the lower, forested river bank in the south up to the hillside area in the north. Visitors roaming the park’s site-specific works cross the bridge to complete the art tour through the sculpture park.
From the south entry visitors cross a 16 meter aluminum-clad steel bridge to reach the double-height space. The double-curve geometry of the museum is composed of straight 40 centimeter wide aluminum panels arranged like a stack of books, slightly shifted into a fanning motion.
See Also: Bjarke Ingels Group creates 66 homes for low-income citizens in Copenhagen
The curved form of the glass windows allows for a variety of light to enter the museum, creating three distinctive galleries: a wide, naturally lit gallery on the north side with views of the nearby historic pulp mill and river via a full-height glass wall; a tall, dark gallery with artificial lighting on the south side; and a sculptural space with a twisted sliver of roof light that connects the other two spaces.
A glass staircase leads down to the lower level on the north river embankment where the building’s aluminum underside becomes the ceiling. Restrooms and a full-width glass wall are located on this level.
The project is BIG’s first in Norway.
Related Stories
Museums | Jan 8, 2020
The Grand Canal Museum will tell the story of the world’s longest canal
Herzog & de Meuron designed the project.
Museums | Dec 18, 2019
Weiss/Manfredi will lead the master plan of the La Brea Tar Pits
The firm was selected by The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County after an international competition.
Giants 400 | Oct 3, 2019
Top 65 Cultural Sector Construction Firms for 2019
Whiting-Turner, Turner, PCL, Clark Group, and Gilbane top the rankings of the nation's largest cultural facility sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 3, 2019
Top 70 Cultural Sector Engineering Firms for 2019
Jacobs, Arup, EXP, BRPH, and Thornton Tomasetti head the rankings of the nation's largest cultural facility sector engineering and engineering architecture (EA) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 3, 2019
Top 110 Cultural Sector Architecture Firms for 2019
Gensler, Populous, DLR Group, Stantec, and Perkins and Will top the rankings of the nation's largest cultural facility sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 3, 2019
2019 Cultural Facility Giants Report: New libraries are all about community
The future of libraries is less about being quiet and more about hands-on learning and face-to-face interactions. This and more cultural sector trends from BD+C's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Museums | Aug 21, 2019
Cincinnati Reds debut renovated Reds Hall of Fame and Museum
FRCH NELSON designed the project.
Museums | Aug 8, 2019
The Challenge Museum includes a two minute walk through farmland to reach the building
UNStudio is designing the project.
Museums | Aug 1, 2019
Foster + Partners wins competition for the expansion and remodeling of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum
The design looks to reorient the museums towards the city.
Museums | Jul 29, 2019
A new museum debuts inside the Empire State Building
A $165 million, 10,000-sf museum opened on the second floor of the Empire State Building in New York City, completing the second of a four-phase “reimagining” of that building’s observatory experience, which draws four million visitors annually.