b'Construction briefingGeneralA former parking lot on Oslos harbour front has been transformed into the largest art museum in the Nordic countries. It is Norways new National Museum, spanning 54,600 sqm of space and covering the disciplines of art, architecture, and design, from antiquity to the present day. The project has had a long gestation. The first version of the brief159 pages of spatial and technical requirementswas written in 2010, ten years before the projects completion in 2020. In the years in between, there were lots of developments and plenty of debate, but few of those related to the brief. From the start, the aims and the functional requirements were clear and they remained relevant throughout the project. Strategic Functional TechnicalThe strategic brief for theThe project brief distinguishedFor detailed technical project, which was developedbetween seven functionalrequirements, the brief by Statsbygg (the Norwegianareas: (1) Public, (2) Exhibition,referred to Statsbyggs Directorate of Public(3) Dissemination, library,standardized design guidelines Construction and Property),books, documentation and(Prosjekteringsanvisningene, was an ambitious one. It statedpaper art, (4) Studios andor PAs), which apply to all that the new building had toworkshops, (5) Art storage, (6)Statsbyggs construction mark the National Museum asDelivery and transport, and (7)projects and can be found an exhibition and disseminationAdministration. Of these, theonline. Project-specific technical arena at an international levelexhibition areas representedrequirements concerned the and that it should help bringthe largest amount of space,indoor climate conditions in the Norway up to par with the otheraccounting for 35% of the totalexhibition areas and art depots Nordic countries with regardsspace allocation. In this, thewith regard daylight access, to the visual arts. In addition tobrief differentiated betweenhumidity and temperature. these abstract goals, the briefdisplay spaces for temporaryAnother project-specific topic mentioned several concreteexhibitions and display spacesconcerned logistics. To ensure targets, such as increasingfor the permanent collection.that the museums larger the annual number of visitorsFor the first, the brief stressedartefacts could be moved in and from 500,000 to 750,000 andthe importance of flexibility,out and through the museum, providing sufficient room tostating that these spaces shouldthe brief mentioned practical accommodate the growth ofbe able to exhibit any kind of artmatters such as door widths, the museums collection forartefact (from the smallest toroom heights and the load-the coming 40 years. The briefthe largest). For the permanentbearing capacity of the floors. It also mentioned the target ofcollection, the brief stressed thespecified, for example, that the reducing the amount of building- importance of differentiation.goods elevator should measure related damage to the museumsThe diverse nature of theat least 5 x 3 x 4.5 metres (l x b x collection to zero.museums collection (whichh, internal dimensions) and have contains architectural models,a load-bearing capacity of five ceramics, clothing, paintings,tonnes to be able to transport etc.) had to be visible andthe museums larger artefacts. clearly readable from the buildings design. 257'