Munch Museum

World-famous painter Edvard Munch willed all of his works still in his possession to the municipality of Oslo. In 2008, Oslo’s city council decided to build a new museum for this incredible gift. An architectural competition for the new museum was announced, and in 2009 an international jury named as the winner Spanish architect Juan Herreros’ proposal Lambda.

Herreros’s proposal is based on the idea of a tower-shaped museum, where the main functions are organised vertically. MUNCH is sixty metres tall and constitutes an interesting counterpoint to nearby buildings, most notably to the horizontally oriented Oslo Opera House. With cladding in recycled, perforated and partially translucent aluminium panels and its characteristic leaning top section, the museum has become a distinctive Oslo landmark.

The tower, which sits on a three-story podium, has two zones: one static and one dynamic. The static zone is an enclosed concrete structure, which complies with stringent requirements in order to protect the art. The dynamic zone has an open, transparent façade with beautiful views over the city and the Oslo fjord. With a total of 13 floors and 11 gallery spaces, MUNCH is able to offer a wide range of approaches to Edvard Munch and his art, and to juxtapose his oeuvre with those of other modernists and contemporary artists.

The permanent exhibitions are drawn from MUNCH’s own collection, which for the first time really have the space it deserves. In addition to regular exhibitions, the museum’s events programme will be filled with music, performances, film screenings and art talks.

https://www.visitoslo.com/en/articles/munch/

Photo: Helge Høifødt