The Whale museum that looks like a giant whale diving into the sea
A whale-shaped museum is taking form on the northern coast of Norway, with The Whale set to open in Andenes in June next year.
Designed by Danish architecture studio Dorte Mandrup, the new knowledge and experience centre will use architecture, science, art and sound to explore whales and the oceans they inhabit.
Its sweeping concrete roof rises from the rocky shoreline like a whale surfacing or diving, while remaining low enough to feel like part of the landscape.
The roof is formed from a single curved concrete shell supported at three points, creating a large column-free exhibition space beneath it.
Local stone will cover the outside, while the roof itself becomes a public viewpoint that visitors can walk across to look out over the North Atlantic.
Dorte Mandrup-Poulsen said: “What if this is about the horizon, and not about the connection between earth and sky?”
Inside, curved glass faces the archipelago and the experience combines scientific material with storytelling, sound and art.
Ralph Appelbaum Associates and Tamschick Media+Space are developing the exhibition experience, with Marianne Levinsen Landskab responsible for the surrounding landscape.
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