Extension of the National Library of Norway

The project won first prize in a prequalified architectural competition, in collaboration with landscape architects Østengen & Bergo.

The extension adds a new library for blind and partially sighted users, office space, a new shared canteen in a glass-roofed courtyard, and a public park. A narrow gap separates the new building from the historic library. The two are still tied together by their closeness, a shared plinth and a common cornice height.

The new building stands apart through its diamond-shaped floor plan, with each storey projecting further out than the one below. The main architectural theme of the project was the tension between the reading room as a freestanding volume and the building as an annex.

Winner of the Copper in Architecture Award.