Knut Hamsun Centre

The Hamsun Centre (Norwegian Hamsunsenteret ) is a house of literature and documentation center about the writer Knut Hamsun. The award-winning tower building was designed by the American architect Steven Holl and opened to the public in 2010. It lies on the banks of the river Glimma in Preisteid in the North Norwegian Hamarøy.

History

During the Hamsun- days in 1986 the idea for a Hamsun- center was built. For the execution of the American architect Steven Holl was commissioned in 1994, which initially dealt a long time with the life and works of Hamsun and traveled to Hamarøy and began to draw. In 1996 he presented on watercolor sketches the tower building as an interpretation of Hamsun's character and literature. The New York Museum of Modern Art acquired his widely discussed model. In 1997, the architect was awarded the " Progressive Architecture Award". The center was funded by the province of Nordland, the Hamarøy, the Norwegian government and many private sponsors. In 2009 the building was completed with a grand opening celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Hamsun and opened by Crown Princess Mette- Marit. After completion of the exhibition and interior, the center was opened on 13 June 2010 for the audience. The building was awarded the 2010 " International Architecture Award", in 2011 with the Norwegian Statens byggeskikkpris.

The building and its special features

The diamond-shaped tower building consists of six floors and is considered the world's largest house of literature. The construction costs amounted to 20 million euros. The exhibition route starts on the top floor; there is via a lift in the center of the building. The tour will continue on top of different built exhibition levels, which result from the modern architecture according to the intention of Steven Holl "strange, surprising and extraordinary experiences with space, perspective and light."

" All interiors develop along a" architectural promenade " around the elevator around as open stairways which allow air spaces are created over three floors. The lift is covered with brass perforated plate, illuminated from within, mysterious shadow is cast into the exhibition rooms. The boundaries between reality and illusion are blurred, as in Hamsun's seal. "

In one of the sections in the department " The respected and outlaws Hamsun " shows how conflicting Norway is to the Nobel Prize winner and National Writers Hamsun. That Holl has extensively studied Hamsun and Norway, arrives in the building repeatedly expressed. Thus, the blackened with tar frontage on the old Norwegian Stave Churches out the bamboo sticks on the roof garden at the grass-covered farmhouse roofs. On the figure of Johan Nagel from Hamsun's novel Mysteries of his empty violin case had constantly doing, suggests the clad with cedar view balcony. Here is a created by Jana Winderen sound installation. Visitors will hear sounds from the environment of the river Glimma from all seasons, for example, fish, insects, or melting ice. From the " violin case " there is access to the alder Stenberg and Elin T. Sørensen designed library, were closely interwoven in the art and function. The ground floor houses the reception, a bookshop and a café.