40 673 Architecture and the Archives: Holmsbu Kunstmuseum (Spring 2026)

The Architecture and the Archives studio series aim to address the expanding scope of evidence used to value existing buildings in projects of restoration, reconfiguration or adaption. As methods for valuing architecture develop, existing buildings are increasingly subjected to cultural, political and economic debate. Public pressure and ecological concern are making the threshold for demolishing existing buildings higher. Assessing when a building’s life is over, or when to advocate repair and reuse, requires a new set of skills from architects. Tools and methods borrowed from architectural history and theory, preservation and curatorial practices are used to comprehend and communicate cultural meaning.

The studio series investigates buildings and architects on the border of mainstream narratives. Students adopt a twofold archival and curatorial approach, to research specific architectural objects and to produce display material. Working methods range from archival research, site surveys, re-drawing and re-modelling, to reading seminars and discussions with invited speakers, all leading to the development of exhibition ideas and the design and construction of display cases. Our goal is to successfully unearth, analyse and represent a building’s conception, construction, materials and details, as well as its previous functions, reception and ownership history. The aim of this cultural and technical contextualisation of a building’s history is to positively influence its future. The course is designed for students with a deep interest in architectural history and a desire to acquire tools and methods relevant to contemporary practice.

This semester, we will investigate the Holmsbu kunstmuseum (originally named Holmsbu billedgalleri), designed by Bjart Mohr, and completed in 1973. The museum, which re-opened in 2025, commemorates how Scandinavian painters, most famously Henrik Sørensen, Thorvald Erichsen and Oluf Wold-Torne, gathered in Holmsbu in the summer season to be inspired by the local environment. Between 1911 and 1962, more than a hundred painters were part of this unique artists’ colony, often staying in old cabins moved to the Holmsbu forest from Hurum and Telemark.

The Holmsbu Museum was founded by the son of Henrik Sørensen, Sven Oluf Sørensen, whose thinking was influenced by the philosopher Arne Næss and contemporary Norwegian nature-oriented philosophy, notably ecosophy and deep ecology. With its exquisite setting, sculptural form, and meticulous craftsmanship, Mohr’s museum design exemplifies an architecture deeply rooted in place and local history. The building was erected by local volunteers over a decade, from 1963 to 1973, and throughout the construction period, every effort was made to protect the site’s natural terrain and vegetation. Perched on the steep, forested slope above the outer Drammensfjord, its façades are clad in large blocks of local red granite excavated from the site. In 1983, the building received the Houen Foundation Diploma for outstanding architecture.

Throughout the semester, we will immerse ourselves in archives, both physical and digital, collecting and producing material for an architecture exhibition about the original Holmsbu Museum, the architect Bjart Mohr, and his broader body of work. We will discuss our findings with our official partners, Museene i Akershus and Holmsbu Kunstmuseum, as well as with curators from the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design and a series of invited lecturers and scholars. We will also visit selected buildings across the country. Through this process, we will uncover a largely overlooked chapter of Norwegian architectural history and reflect on how architecture can be reactivated through research, exhibition, and dialogue.

The studio is taught by Jørgen Johan Tandberg and Louis Gervais. It is part of the international research project “Provenance Projected. Architecture Past and Future in the Era of Circularity” led by professor Mari Lending.

After successfully completing the course, you have acquired the following knowledge:

• The ability to handle historical complexity and making evidence operative within a research and design project.
• Increased knowledge about the building methods and design strategies of 20th century Norwegian modernism.
• An understanding of archival work as a method for writing architectural history and understanding/intervening in design processes.
• The ability to use modelmaking as a representational tool and architectural detailing as a research method.

Form of assessment: Portfolio assessment

Grouping: Individual

Grading scale: Pass/fail

The portfolio assessment includes the following elements: