The Cultural Center in Stjørdal, Norway, is an important node for the community, both locally and in the region. The building is a place for all people interested in culture to explore and develop their abilities and talents. Its facilities consist of a library, youth center, theatre and concert halls, cinemas, and venues for dance, music, media, art and other activities. In addition, it incorporates a community church and office spaces within the same envelope.
The Stjørdal Cultural Center will become an inviting place for all people interested in culture in one way or another: a building where people of all kinds can explore and develop their abilities and talents. With its church, the Cultural Center will function as a suitable venue for all kinds of ceremonies for the inhabitants. In addition to this, the visitors to the hotel will contribute to vitalizing the building and the park. At the same time, the architecture should convey its modern function and the pulse of the time and place. The Center will be a platform for a broad cultural concept: a wide range of art, dance, music, film and other media. The Stjørdal Cultural Center should become an inspiring place that provides visitors with new experiences and opportunities for personal display and development.
Designed by Oslo-based Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter AS (RRA) and Trondheim-based Lusparken Arkitekter AS and JSTArkitekter, the three-story cultural center, which also has one basement level, provides a gross floor area of approximately 11,500 m2. The Trondheim, Norway office of the international engineering firm Ramboll was responsible for the structural engineering of the cultural center. Sweco Norge AS, of Oslo, also provided technical consultation, and the international construction firm Skanska served as the main contractor and project manager. The new cultural center is being constructed for a local nonprofit organization, Stjørdal Kulturutvikling AS, and will cost approximately NOK 717 million (US $86 million). The project is intended to replace an existing facility in Stjørdal that is 50 years old and considered too small for the fast-growing city. Stjørdal is a regional transportation center in Norway, located directly north of Trondheim Airport, Vӕrnes, and along the coast of the Trondheimsfjord, an inlet of the Norwegian Sea.
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Siteplan
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The architecture of Stjørdal features low-rise buildings and traditional pitch-roofed timber structures, a heritage and scale that are being reinterpreted in the Cultural Center’s design. The roof presents a saw-tooth form that varies in height from 14 to 18 m, the portion over the church rising in a spire. The structure also features several cantilevered sections that project out from the low-rise facade, some with gabled roofs.
The project is anchored in and inspired by the history and culture of its location. At the same time, the architecture conveys its modern function and the pulse of the time and place. The Cultural Center of Stjørdal is designed to be an inspiring place that provides the visitors with new experiences and opportunities, thus contributing to a rich locational, cultural and architectural experience.
