Project name: The Twist | Location: Kistefos, Norway | Completed: 2019 | Architects: BIG
Kistefos in Norway is famed for being the home to northern Europe’s biggest sculpture park which has just received the BIG treatment, making it an even more appealing destination. The sculpture park, previously divided by a river, is now completely connected by The Twist – a sculptural bridge that houses a museum.
Described by Bjarke Ingels, BIG’s founder, as “an inhabitable bridge”, The Twist extends from one bank of the river in a dramatic display that has been likened to a twisting deck of cards. Not only is the twisting design intended to make a visual impact, it means that the uneven banks are connected in a natural, flowing form.
Visitors enter The Twist through a double-height entrance that leads to a completely windowless first half. Once past the first half of the bridge, the structure twists into floor-to-ceiling glazing which offers unexpected views of the river and old mill of the sculpture park. Ingels describes the transition from entrance to exit as one from introverted to extroverted. Completely white interiors work in tandem with the uniform aluminium façade to ensure that the form of the project is the only focus.
The Twist successfully reconfigures the whole of Kistefos Sculpture Park, changing the way that visitors can enjoy the area. The contemporary art museum within the structure was, at first, thought of as an add on to the park itself, but Ingels notes that thanks to The Twist, “It's not like you go to the museum then you go to the sculpture park and then you go home, you go through the sculpture park, roughly halfway you go through the museum and then you continue.”
Photography by Laurian Ghinitoiu.
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