LISBON.- Lisbon welcomed the exhibition "Snøhetta - Architecture - Landscape - Interior", that shows some of the major works of one of the most widely discussed architectural firms in the world today.
The firm has achieved this position primarily by winning two open, international competitions with hundreds of participants from all over the world: Bibliotheca Alexandrina and Oslo’s new Opera House. The winning designs have become landmarks in their respective countries.
The objective of this exhibition is to present Snøhetta’s designs to a broader public around the world. It present the firm and its work by means of films, computer animations and visualisations, photographs, drawings and text. Some of Snøhetta most important projects are presented: the September 11 Museum Pavilion, the King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture, the Ras Al Khaimah Gateway project, the Opera House in Oslo and Bibliotheca Alexandrina. There are also models of these projects.
An important feature of the exhibition is the multitouch table – a fun, interactive opportunity to find out everything you would like to know about 100 Snøhetta projects. The films The Desert Castle about the Ras Al Khaimah Gateway project and Building a legend about the library in Alexandriaare also worth watching.
This travelling exhibition is a smaller version of the exhibition shown in Oslo, which ran from May to September and was visited by 27.000 people, to celebrate the firm 20th anniversary, in 2009.
The exhibition has been commissioned by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and produced by Norway’s National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in close collaboration with Snøhetta. Ir arrives now in Lisbon, Portugal, due to a partnership between the Royal Embassy of Norway, Fundação EDP | Museu da Electricidade and the Lisbon Architecture Triennale.
Snøhetta is an architecture, landscape and interior design practice. It was established in Oslo, Norway in 1989, and opened an office in New York in 2004.
History
The foundations of Snøhetta’s success were laid in 1989 when the firm was awarded first prize in the international competition for the design of the new library in Alexandria, Egypt. Its winning design, which features one of the largest reading rooms in the world, is a true landmark with a tilted cylindrical form rising up between massive stone walls inscribed with signs and symbols from various historic periods and cultures.
Philosophy and values
Snøhetta has developed a reputation for the close ties it maintains between landscape and architecture in all its projects. The unique site and context of each project is taken into careful consideration and provides the point of departure for the design. By creating a strong initial concept, the firm aims to be able to accommodate a wide variety of user adaptations without sacrificing the qualities envisioned.
Snøhetta builds on the democratic traditions of the general Norwegian working environment, with a strong commitment to teamwork throughout the design process.
The offices are transdisciplinary, comprising architects, landscape architects, interior architects and industrial designers, who work closely with independent artists and engineers. Great emphasis is placed on input from all parties, including client and builder.
Snøhetta is one of the most widely discussed architectural firms in the world today. Over the last 10 years, Snøhetta has won several major design projects particularly for cultural buildings. It has received several awards, including the Aga Khan Award 2004 for Architecture, the World Architecture Award for Culture 2008 and the Mies van der Rohe Award 2009.
Snøhetta AS is an architectural practice based in Oslo, Norway and New York City, USA. The practice took the name Snøhetta in 1987.
The present organization was established in 1989.
