The Whale Watching Window

“The Whale” on Andøya

Dorte Mandrup A/S

The competition

Danish archi­tec­ture studio Dorte Mandrup has won the inter­na­tional compe­ti­tion to design the new attrac­tion, The Whale, 300 km north of the Arctic Circle in nort­hern Norway.

Toge­ther with Mari­anne Levinsen Landskab and the consul­tants JAC Studios, Thornton Toma­setti, Nils Øien and Anders Kold, Dorte Mandrup A/S will design a new attrac­tion on the island of Andøya in Nort­hern Norway. Andenes is a small town of appro­xi­m­ately 2.600 citi­zens, many of whom are employed in the fishing industry and the local mili­tary air station and airport oft he island. The crea­tion of a new tourist attrac­tion is desired and supported both locally and regio­nally.

This is one of the best places in the world for whale watching, and the new buil­ding, The Whale, will tell the tale of this fabled crea­ture through art, science and archi­tec­ture.

A world class attraction in the Arctic

The whale buil­ding grows out of the land­scape. It rises natu­rally as a soft hill on the rocky shore as if a giant has lifted a thin layer of the crust of the earth and created a cavity under­neath.

The ambi­tions for the new buil­ding are high, and a visit to The Whale should be an unfor­gettable part of a stay on Andøya – a place that augments the monu­mental expe­ri­ence of the nature and the land­scape.

This remote loca­tion already has 50.000 yearly visi­tors and The Whale will signi­fi­cantly streng­then Nort­hern Norway as a travel desti­na­tion.

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The roof

The curved roof will be covered with stones that natu­rally pati­nate and under­line the connec­tion between the Norwe­gian land­scape and the buil­ding. As with the Wadden Sea Centre in Ribe and the Icefjord Centre in Ilulissat, Dorte Mandrup has desi­gned a buil­ding which doesn’t simply fit into the land­scape – it enhances its character and adds a comple­men­tary element.

The land­scape on the site was critical in defi­ning the shape of the buil­ding. The para­bolic form of the roof is defined by three high points on the site, and the foun­da­tion is informed by the land­scape beneath it.

Landscape and building

Large windows that open towards the archi­pe­lago under­line the connec­tion between land­scape and The Whale and create a visual connec­tion between the exhi­bi­tion spaces and the vast natural surroun­dings. A connec­tion which is further enhanced by rocks showing multiple places in the buil­ding.

The Whale will house exhi­bi­tion spaces, offices, a café and a store. The design respectfully ties the water­front site with the ambi­tious goal to protect the marine envi­ron­ment and its wild­life through art, science and archi­tec­ture.

The winning proposal will form the basis for the cons­truc­tion of the new buil­ding, which is expected to open in 2022.

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Project data and compa­nies involved

Landscape architect

Mari­anne Levinsen Landskab
Wilders­gade 51, 2.sal
DK — 1408 Køben­havn K

Architect

Dorte Mandrup A/S
Vester­bro­gade 95A, 4
DK — 1620 Copen­hagen

 

Illustrations

Dorte Mandrup A/S

Opening

2022

Text

Atelier Regular

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