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Art museum in Førde, Presteboen (NO)

It was a natural phenomenon that became the inspiration for the design of the Sogn & Fjordane Art Museum by Danish architectural office C.F. Møller Architects: calving. This is the process in which masses of ice break away from the edge of a glacier and fall into the sea or valley. The angular museum building symbolises such a calf, giving it both a distinct identity and recognition value.

The small Norwegian town of Forde is located at the end of the Forde Fjord to the north of Bergen. The largest glacier in continental Europe, Jostedalsbreen, edges its way into view between the mountain tops several kilometres away. This famous ice colossus has shaped the identity of the town below, which previously had neither a traditional old town nor other architectural sights to offer.

C.F. Moller Architects therefore saw their task when designing the new Sogn & Fjordane Art Museum as the creation of an eyecatching building that would confidently assert itself and become one of the town's defining features. Jostedalsbreen served as the architects' inspiration and had a major influence on the building's dimensions. Angled lines on the facade are illuminated at night and symbolise fracture lines in ice. The crystalline geometry of the building continues inside with its floor plans, which is especially clear to see in the museum's triangular atrium: visitors can walk up a blue panelled staircase as they rise through the “eternal ice”. The exhibition spans four floors and showcases the works of local contemporary artists, many of whom also explore Norwegian nature in their art.