The museum is located in the new district of Tjuvholmen, at the end of an embankment cape: it closes the central part of the city harbor, therefore this project has a significant urban planning role. The building is located right next to the water, and its main facade, which is essentially a roof, faces the water: these are curved glass ceilings that resemble a sail. Renzo Piano thus reminded of the history of the area: it used to be an industrial zone with a shipyard. Also in this motive is the connection of Oslo and Norway with the sea: an architect who builds yachts for himself especially appreciates the interaction of the city and buildings with water as a natural element.
Therefore, a beach and a sculpture garden will be arranged next to the museum, which will attract even those who do not plan to attend exhibitions, but just want to relax and admire the view of the Oslofjord and the center of the Norwegian capital. Piano believes that the task of an architect is to create an environment of "beauty", since it is beauty that will attract people to the new building. In his opinion, the role of beauty for society should not be underestimated, and an architect should not be a pragmatist obsessed with functionality - his work should be based on humanism. Such "idyllic" views are unexpected for the author of the Pompidou Center, but he does not abandon his past, much more radical ideas: "Beaubourg" was important as a manifesto rejecting a traditional museum, solemnly raised above the street, with a wide front staircase, overwhelming the timid visitor. When the idea of accessibility of a “temple of the arts” was accepted by architects and museum professionals, it became possible to address other issues.
One of them is form semantics. Responsible for them is the seemingly weightless "sail" of the facade, which plays another role - the "light catcher". Piano is known for his attention to natural lighting in museums: he believes that electricity "flattens" art and space, so he uses it as little as possible. But in Oslo, he faced an unusual task: there it became the main thing not to filter out the bright rays of the sun, which are dangerous for the exhibits, but, on the contrary, to let in the halls as much dim northern light as possible.
The model for the new Astrup-Fearnley is the Danish Museum of Louisiana, whose complex has been built for decades as pavilions scattered throughout the park. It is this “informality” that interests Piano: the museum is not a “center of power,” its social function is the function of an attractive public space. Therefore, the building was decided not as a monolithic volume, but as three buildings separated by a canal - a tribute to the "water" layout of Tjuvholmen itself and the neighboring Akerbrügge.
The building of temporary exhibitions overlooks the harbor, beach and garden. It is connected to two other buildings by a bridge over a canal; The building facing the city is intended for offices - this will partially recoup the construction. And the building facing the sea will be used for a permanent exhibition and as a cultural center. Despite the difference in function, the facades of all parts of the complex are solved in the same way - they are covered with wood: this is a tribute to the local tradition.
Piano points out that the new complex will have about 12 "points of attraction" for visitors, including, of course, exhibitions: Astrup-Fearnley has a first-class collection of contemporary art, including works by Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons. The opening of the new museum building is scheduled for autumn 2012, while these works are on display in the very center of Oslo, in a building built by the Norwegian bureau LPO in 1993: the museum's collection has grown so much since then that the exhibition space has long ceased to be enough.
Nevertheless, the current building, with its light halls and "rough" concrete walls, does its job well. But in the construction of Renzo Piano, the city and the museum will receive something more than a convenient "box" for exhibits: a multifunctional community center - the focus of urban life in a natural environment.
