Comments on: Opera House Oslo by Snøhetta http://www.dezeen.com/2008/04/04/opera-house-oslo-by-sn%c3%b8hetta/ architecture and design magazine Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:21:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Richard Gooderick http://www.dezeen.com/2008/04/04/opera-house-oslo-by-sn%c3%b8hetta/comment-page-1/#comment-157916 Richard Gooderick Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:01:53 +0000 http://www.dezeen.com/2008/04/04/opera-house-oslo-by-sn%c3%b8hetta/#comment-157916 I climbed all over this roof last Sunday night. It was a fantastic experience and yes it does feel very much like a norwegian glacier. The texture and incline of the marble changes all the time. There are fault lines and polished strips over which you could easily fall or slip. And when you approach the water you have lost all sense of height. It feels like you are just about to step into a long drop. I loved it and as I walked away at about midnight somebody was dancing in the floodlight on the rooftop creating a dancing shadow puppet that a group of children having a party on a boat opposite were all laughing and cheering about. I love the Sage Gatehead but this building goes even further. It really is a cultural centre fo the people. It's exciting and has an element of risk about it too. That bodes well for the art inside. I climbed all over this roof last Sunday night. It was a fantastic experience and yes it does feel very much like a norwegian glacier. The texture and incline of the marble changes all the time. There are fault lines and polished strips over which you could easily fall or slip. And when you approach the water you have lost all sense of height. It feels like you are just about to step into a long drop.
I loved it and as I walked away at about midnight somebody was dancing in the floodlight on the rooftop creating a dancing shadow puppet that a group of children having a party on a boat opposite were all laughing and cheering about.
I love the Sage Gatehead but this building goes even further. It really is a cultural centre fo the people. It’s exciting and has an element of risk about it too. That bodes well for the art inside.

]]> By: Oslodweller http://www.dezeen.com/2008/04/04/opera-house-oslo-by-sn%c3%b8hetta/comment-page-1/#comment-114088 Oslodweller Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:17:20 +0000 http://www.dezeen.com/2008/04/04/opera-house-oslo-by-sn%c3%b8hetta/#comment-114088 I too live in Oslo and went to visit the opera yesterday. And I have to agree, the pictures actually do not do justice to the building. Being there physically the vast landscape of the building just hits you. The glacier reference mentioned above is fitting. I have climbed on several glaciers in Norway, and this gives a quite similar experience. The large white marble space, and the vertical blue translucent windows gives the appearance of approaching a glacier from below. And it doesn't show on the pictures, but it is by no means flat on the roof. The roof is actually quite terrained, and going up to the roof and down again I actually felt it physically. Not only is it higher than it seems on pictures, but it also left me slightly snow blind, as it was a sunny day and I forgot to bring sunglasses.... However, I felt the indoor space was more disappointing, while the wooden stair forms are beautiful the entrance gallery felt a little cramped, with some horrible cafe furniture... I too live in Oslo and went to visit the opera yesterday. And I have to agree, the pictures actually do not do justice to the building. Being there physically the vast landscape of the building just hits you.

The glacier reference mentioned above is fitting. I have climbed on several glaciers in Norway, and this gives a quite similar experience. The large white marble space, and the vertical blue translucent windows gives the appearance of approaching a glacier from below. And it doesn’t show on the pictures, but it is by no means flat on the roof. The roof is actually quite terrained, and going up to the roof and down again I actually felt it physically. Not only is it higher than it seems on pictures, but it also left me slightly snow blind, as it was a sunny day and I forgot to bring sunglasses….

However, I felt the indoor space was more disappointing, while the wooden stair forms are beautiful the entrance gallery felt a little cramped, with some horrible cafe furniture…

]]> By: operaneighbour http://www.dezeen.com/2008/04/04/opera-house-oslo-by-sn%c3%b8hetta/comment-page-1/#comment-111946 operaneighbour Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:54:37 +0000 http://www.dezeen.com/2008/04/04/opera-house-oslo-by-sn%c3%b8hetta/#comment-111946 I live right next to this building, and the photos does not do the building justice. The marble hasnt turned any kind of yellow.... There were a lot of concerns when it came to designing a building of this magnitude amongst norwegians. It could not be a building that appeared to belong to the "cultural elite," it had to be accessible for everybody. It had to display norwegian cultural heritage and represent the current state of the country. It had to justify its pricetag compared to what that money could do for other social projects like healthcare or education, and there had to be a wide political agreement on the matter before construction could begin. Thats partially why it looks like it does; its a populist building. It looks like they borrowed chairs from our public transport system though, maybe so that they could afford the kick ass fireworks last night. I live right next to this building, and the photos does not do the building justice. The marble hasnt turned any kind of yellow….

There were a lot of concerns when it came to designing a building of this magnitude amongst norwegians. It could not be a building that appeared to belong to the “cultural elite,” it had to be accessible for everybody. It had to display norwegian cultural heritage and represent the current state of the country. It had to justify its pricetag compared to what that money could do for other social projects like healthcare or education, and there had to be a wide political agreement on the matter before construction could begin. Thats partially why it looks like it does; its a populist building.

It looks like they borrowed chairs from our public transport system though, maybe so that they could afford the kick ass fireworks last night.

]]> By: Danny http://www.dezeen.com/2008/04/04/opera-house-oslo-by-sn%c3%b8hetta/comment-page-1/#comment-110581 Danny Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:36:43 +0000 http://www.dezeen.com/2008/04/04/opera-house-oslo-by-sn%c3%b8hetta/#comment-110581 love the contrast between interior and exterior in materials and form. love the blatant ice reference, tangible to the public unlike soo many other concepts. love the contrast between interior and exterior in materials and form. love the blatant ice reference, tangible to the public unlike soo many other concepts.

]]> By: Ba00el http://www.dezeen.com/2008/04/04/opera-house-oslo-by-sn%c3%b8hetta/comment-page-1/#comment-109879 Ba00el Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:57:44 +0000 http://www.dezeen.com/2008/04/04/opera-house-oslo-by-sn%c3%b8hetta/#comment-109879 I love this surface ... cooool I love this surface …
cooool

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