A new Nordic art museum, designed by architecture firm BAX Studio, Mestres Wåge Arquitectes, and Mendoza Partida, has been unveiled in Kristiansand, Norway.

Called Kunstsilo, the 8,500-square-meter building was opened to the public on 11 May 2024, integrating for the first time the Southern Norway Art Museum and the prestigious Tangen Collection of Nordic art.

The museum, with expansive three floors, is located on the waterfront in the picturesque peninsula of Odderøya. Kunstsilo will become the largest museum in Southern Norway and will house the world’s largest private collection of Nordic art.

Overhauled as an extensive heritage preservation project, Barcelona-based firm BAX Studio, Barcelona and Oslo-based studio Mestres Wåge Arquitectes, and Barcelona-based practice Mendoza Partida transformed the old grain silo, designed in 1935 by architects Arne Korsmo and Sverre Aasland, into a world-class cultural venue. 

The innovative cultural center offers breathtaking views of the region's coastline. It showcases three art collections and digital art experiences, and will host a variety of international touring exhibitions.

The building's main focus is the 30 grain silos - once contained 15,000 tonnes of grain, serving as a central guiding element for visitors, creating a vast entrance hall with abundant access to natural light. At the top of the building, a new glass-covered bar and event spaces provide stunning views of the archipelago.

Kunstsilo oversees three permanent collections: the Tangen Collection, the Southern Norway Art Collection, and the Christianssands Picture Gallery. The Tangen Collection is the world's largest collection of Nordic modernist art, containing over 5,500 artworks.

"This cathedral of art in Kristiansand provides the perfect home for the Tangen Collection," said Nicolai Tangen, a Norwegian hedge fund manager who founded AKO Capital. 

"I wanted to give the art to a place that is important to me and seeing it across the walls of Kunstsilo in my home city is a wonderful experience." 

"I love the art and I love the town, so this is like a heart transplant. I hope the Tangen Collection at Kunstsilo is enjoyed by visitors for decades to come," he added.

By honoring the unique qualities of the existing silo building, the new building strikes an elegant balance while showcasing the expressive power of the silo through its sculptural and spatial experiences. 

The building features a new museum, a performing arts school, a hotel, and a dedicated space for artistic start-ups, serving as an incubator for their creative ventures.

The museum will soon house international digital contemporary art, temporary exhibitions, and an expanded offering of lectures, concerts, dining experiences, workshops, function rooms, and events.

The interior of the silo has been strategically cut to create a monumental volume, enhanced by precise top lighting that bestows the future museum with a strong and distinctive character.

The key design element of the 37-metre-tall museum is a breathtaking atrium and circulation core that soars to a height of 21 meters. 

Surrounding this impressive space are galleries, in which most of them are located in two adjacent extensions. Another key intervention is an exact replica of the original volume, which required rebuilding due to deterioration.

The architectural teams won an architectural competition in 2016 to convert the silo building, built in 1935, into a future art museum. In 2015, Nicolai Tangen donated his art collection to his hometown of Kristiansand. The following year, the perpetual right of disposal was granted to the Sørlandets Art Museum under the AKO Art Foundation.

The exhibition spans 25 rooms, featuring over 600 works created between 1910 and 1990. It offers a multifaceted view of Modern Nordic art reflecting life in the 20th century.

The building is strengthened by two non-identical galleries with cross walls. While the original white plastered wall of the silo was restored, the east side facade was covered with corrugated white aluminum, referencing the form of cylindrical silos.

A digital gallery on the second floor

Guests can discover the innovative digital gallery on the second floor, where artworks come to life through captivating floor-to-ceiling projections. 

This immersive experience is designed to engage and inspire a younger audience, forming an integral part of Kunstsilo's strategy to make Kunstsilo more accessible to all.

Bar, located on the terrace, offers a mesmerizing view towards the city

On the roof terraces, the wavy outer surface of the silos is continued and the silos are covered with glass cylinders. The glass surfaces also evoke a lighthouse, referencing Kunstsilo's coastal environment.

Wooden finishes and furniture balance the space inside the bar. Wood is also used in the curved stairwells of the building, distinguishing the old from the new.

Kunstsilo's first exhibition, "Passions of the North", from the Tangen Collection of Nordic art, draws inspiration from literary giants like Thomas Hardy and Virginia Woolf. The exhibition will close in Autumn 2024.

Kunstsilo has a dynamic program of international touring exhibitions. The first exhibition, 'Playing with Fire: Edmund de Waal and Axel Salto', is a collaboration between English artist Edmund de Waal, Kunstsilo, and CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark. 

This exhibition will run from September 26, 2024, to March 2, 2025. Following this, there will be a solo exhibition featuring the work of Norway's leading photographic artist Mette Tronvoll in January 2025.

In addition to these exhibitions, the museum is dedicated to showcasing new technology. One of the upcoming digital art experiences is called S-Lab. 

S-Lab is an interactive and immersive environment that presents work from the Kunstsilo collection, bringing each artwork to life for visitors of all ages.

The in-house innovation department has developed an interactive version of the painting "Tivoli" (1935) by Norwegian artist Reidar Aulie for the opening. 

This digital experience transforms the 2D artwork into a rich 3D content experience that moves and interacts. In addition, an augmented reality tour has been created for "Passions of the North," targeting family audiences.

Floor plan

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Kunstsilo was listed in WAC's 12 hotly-anticipated projects set to be opened in 2024. 

"Kunstsilo is a beacon on the coastline in Southern Norway and a new home for international art in the Nordic region," said Reidar Fuglestad, CEO of Kunstsilo. 

"Together the Tangen Collection, Southern Norway Art Collection and works from the Christianssands Picture Gallery provide new appreciation for Nordic art in this incredible building," he added.

All images © Alan Williams Photography.

Drawings © BAX Studio.

> via Kunstsilo 

art museum BAX Studio Mendoza Partida Mestres Wåge Arquitectes museum