The Kistefos Sculpture Park is located next to the museum of the same name - a pulp mill at the end of the 19th century, which tells about this production, which is important for the history of Norway. This is the only such industrial complex preserved intact in the country, although in the past there were about a hundred such factories.
The complex is owned by the grandson of the founder of the factory: he leases it to the museum for a symbolic amount, and he also gives him the sculptures that made up the park. At first they were contemporary Norwegian artists, but then foreign "stars" were added to them:
Anish Kapoor, Ilya Kabakov, Olafur Eliasson. There are 46 art objects in the park today; in the future, it is planned to add at least one piece every year.
The pulp mill is located on the Randselva River, which cuts through the park and makes it difficult to explore. Kistefos also lacked indoor spaces for art exhibitions. BIG architects proposed to solve both problems with one project: to throw the new gallery The Twist across the river like a bridge.
The building with a total length of about 60 m and an area of 1000 m2 connects the wooded banks: this is the second bridge in the park. The spectacular turn of the volume by 90 degrees makes it easy to connect the banks of different heights and the more compact and more spacious half of the structure starting from them. The steel frame of the bridge is sheathed with aluminum on the outside and painted spruce boards on the inside.
The curvature on the outside is enclosed by straight aluminum panels that diverge like a fan. Inside, this part resembles a camera shutter through which everyone who enters the museum passes. The Twist doubled the exhibition space of Kistefos: from the north bank it is a glazed hall with panoramic views of the surroundings, from the south - a "sealed" space with a high ceiling, in the center - a "shutter" with overhead light. At the northern end "under the bridge" there is a basement with bathrooms and utility rooms.
