25 Feb 2016
Fairytale folk museum by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter opens in Norway
BY Kim Megson
Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter have completed a new home for the Romsdal Folk Museum in Molde, Norway which looks like a pine-clad castle from the pages of a Scandinavian fairytale.
The 3,500sq m (36,600sq ft) museum building – which exhibits an extensive collection of Norwegian cultural artefacts and hosts concerts, workshops and lectures – has been officially opened by Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg.
Molde is known for its ethereal pine forests, and the architects have evoked this environment in their design for the building. Exterior walls and the roof are made of solid timber and pine, with steel beams only used when required and concrete limited to the building's foundations.
“The Romsdal museum complex has become an architectonic attraction and a treasured landmark which embodies a whole region’s history and identity,” said the architects in a statement. “The intention was to let the structure signal its meaning and function through an architectural expression and the use of place-specific materials. It should convey an open and progressive attitude that makes diverse utilisation possible.”
The building features an auditorium, library, workshop space and permanent and temporary exhibition rooms divided by large sliding doors to make space customisable.
The interiors are simply laid out, making circulation and internal organisation as clear as possible and contrasting with the more complex, angular shapes used on the facade and pointed, castle-like rooftop.
The architects won the design competition for the project nine years ago.
The Romsdal Folk Museum opened to the public in its original home in 1928. The surrounding area is a popular leisure destination, containing several gardens, a lake and is the home of the annual Molde International Jazz Festival.
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