The University of Stavanger Archaeological Museum and Statsbygg have invited architect and consultant teams to qualify for a new 6000m2 extension to the existing 1500m2 museum in Stavanger, Norway. Various Architects, together with engineers from Ramboll UK and Østengen & Bergo Landscape Architects are one of 6 international teams chosen to compete for this exciting project.
The existing museum quarter includes historic dairy and ice cream factories that are worthy of preservation, as well as extensions from 1980 and 1990. The museum complex has grown and changed over time, layer upon layer sediments in an archaeological excavation.
Our proposal “Stratigraphy” creates a new cultural layers that carefully excavates the existing facility to assign new features with minimal disturbance or changes in existing buildings. The design focused on creating a compact and environmental building that fits in the housing neighborhood. “Stratigraphy” is a three-story building composed of horizontal layers where exhibit spaces are combined with other functions to create life and synergies between program elements. Lecture and conference rooms are located centrally, close to the exhibition spaces to enrich each other. This creates opportunities for multipurpose use of these various functions.
The museum’s new entrance invites visitors to an attractive and illuminated foyer with visual axis through the new vertical atrium towards the cultural garden in the backyard.
The existing foyer is reprogrammed to a flexible exhibition space with a full-scale replica of a Viking ship. “Viking Room” connects exhibit in Dairy building to the new building and temporary exhibitions spaces in Gallery 2 and Gallery 3.
The two new exhibition rooms are located along Peder Klows street in the 2nd and 3 floor. Both showrooms are flexible column-free spaces of a high technical standard that is suitable for all kinds of exhibitions. The back of house areas are significantly improved in terms of operation and security.