Building ideas. From the Architecture Collection, 1830 to the present

How have architectural ideas evolved during the past two centuries? How have architects’ working methods and forms of expression shaped and changed our architectural culture and history?

With material by significant architects such as Henrik Bull, Sverre Fehn, Harald Hals, Jan & Jon, Arne Korsmo, Magnus Poulsson, Snøhetta, and Erling Viksjø, the exhibition focuses on ideas as the core of all architecture.

This exhibition presents a selection of architectural ideas drawn from the National Museum’s collection, which encompasses over 300,000 drawings and other objects dating from the 1830s to today. Some of the works on display are part of Norway’s built landscape, while others never left the drawing boards of the architects who produced them.

The drawings and models on show reveal changing tastes in architectural styles during the past two centuries. They also document changes in the aesthetics of drawings and models themselves. Variations in materials and techniques reflect technological developments across time, as well as shifting currents in architectural attitudes, thinking and approaches.