OSLO – CITY CENTRE

Over the last decade, new contemporary buildings have sprung up in the Norwegian capital, from innovative museums to one of the most impressive opera houses in Scandinavia. Oslo has it all, offering a unique mixture of amazing landscapes and architectural highlights.

In this guided tour with an architect you will walk through the city centre of Oslo and discover different architectural styles: from the historical Oslo City Hall to more contemporary architecture that we can find in the capital of Norway.

In Oslo, the fastest growing capital in Europe, we will start our tour at Klimahuset or Climate House (Lund Hagem Arkitekter AS + Atelier Oslo + Atsite + SixSides), a new exhibition building in the Tøyen Botanical Garden in Oslo. It focuses on communicating knowledge about climate change and the global climate. Through an interaction between high and low technology and the use of innovative and local materials, including a significant amount of wood, The Climate House shows the way to the building solutions of the future.

We will see the Munch Museum (Estudio Herreros, 2021). The Spanish architectural firm won an international competition to design the new museum in Oslo. Located in Bjørvika, on Oslo’s waterfront, it houses the world’s largest collection of the artist’s works.

From there we’ll go to the Central Station visiting the Akrobaten ( L2 Architects), a bridge measuring 206m long that connects the two neighborhoods of Grønland and Bjørvika. Here we will also know more about the Barcode Project; twelve narrow high-rise buildings with different heights and widths. Resembling a barcode due to the little space left between them, the concept was developed by the Norwegian firm DANK and a-lab, in collaboration with the Dutch agency MVRDV.

From there we will go to Norwegian National Opera and Ballet (Snøhetta, 2008), a cultural icon of the Norwegian capital, built partly into the water, resembling an iceberg. The opera house has become a striking symbol of the city’s architectural renaissance. Along the main street Karl Johans gate, the most important buildings will appear; the Royal Palace, the National Theater, Central Station, Old University and Oslo City Hall, the third in the series of early 20th century city halls in the Scandinavian capitals.

We will walk through the Aker Brygge neighborhood until we arrive at Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, designed by Renzo Piano in the trendy district of Tjuvnholmen. More than just a museum for modern art, it is a multi-faceted complex including the museum, office buildings, a park, beach and harbour-front promenade. The museum’s nearest neighbor is The Thief (Mellbye Architects AS), the hotel has a fantastic location at the water’s edge in Tjuvholmen, exciting architecture and high standards.

We will end this tour by seeing the Deichman Library (Lund Hagem Architects and Atelier Oslo, 2020), Oslo’s new public library also located in the city center. It was built according to ambitious environmental standards. In addition to its architectural qualities, the new building is highly functional and innovative in its use of future-oriented climate solutions.

Other tours in Oslo