BERGEN.- Internationally acclaimed Norwegian architects, Snøhetta, have designed the new Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design in the world heritage city of Bergen in Norway, opening in October 2017.

As part of the University of Bergen, the building will house the departments of art and design, which will be brought together for the first time on one landmark site, overlooking the waterfront and surrounded by the seven mountains of Bergen.

With a total floor area of 14,800 sq metres, it will be the second largest cultural building in Bergen after the Grieg Concert Hall.

The building features state of the art facilities for the study of art and design including workshops for wood, ceramic, metal, paper, 3-D modelling, graphics, photo lab and foundries, materials library and café. In a major step to open up the work of the Faculty to the city, the new building features a spectacular project hall, rising the full height of the building, which will be programmed with public exhibitions, projects and presentations developed by the students. The public will also have access to the library, specializing in art and design and the cafe.

The new development is the focus of an emerging new district in Bergen. The Faculty building opens into a new public space leading to the waterfront, with views across the bay. In front of the new building, there will be a new wetland planting designed to recycle rainwater collected from the roof of the Faculty, as part of the wide-ranging strategies for making this one of the most sustainable cultural buildings in Norway.

The University of Bergen has made it a key priority to continue the development of the site with a new adjacent faculty building, to house the Grieg Academy, the Department of Music, thus fulfilling a plan to merge all the arts faculties on one site. A new fast train link with a station next to the building is currently under development which will connect the area to Bergen Centre, with a journey time of five minutes.