Stormen, Bodø

The two buildings of the culture centre Stormen in Bodø, an 11.200 sq.m. concert hall and a 6.300 sq.m. library, have been constructed on the last two vacant urban blocks in the city centre. Shallow pitched roof forms reflect the shape of the surrounding hills and islands, and when seen from the harbour and the sea they appear to conjoin and become a single piece. The façades are white pre-cast concrete elements, stacked and self-supporting. The concrete contains a high proportion of white marble aggregate, and the surfaces reflect the extraordinary light of this sub-Arctic region. The internal surfaces are a combination of oak plywood, terrazzo, through-colour HDF, HPL, calcium sulphate panels and felt. Storgata, the principal public thoroughfare, was redefined as a primarily pedestrian street through the laying of a new granite surface. The buildings and the landscape have been designed to comply with current standards for universal design.