Grev Wedels plass

House for an art collector – Grev Wedels plass 3B, Oslo. An infill project from 1991 in Oslo’s historic urban fabric. A single room distributed across six levels houses a private art collection.

Client

Skarv a.s

Location

Grev Wedels plass 3B, Oslo

Status

Completed

Area

approx. 280m2

Function

House for art collector

Discipline

Architect

An alley between two tenement buildings forms the site for a tower structure. The building stands as a counterpoint to the century‑older ‘Bellevue’ tower in Kirkegaten 2. Apart from a shared ventilation room serving both buildings, the house consists of a single room distributed across six levels. The upper levels are suspended like bridges, with open slots, housing the stairways that run along the long walls. An old vaulted cellar in Kirkegaten 2 is integrated into the new structure. An elongated balcony along the neighbour’s gable allows visual contact with the street. An external spiral staircase leads up to a secluded rooftop terrace. The glass wall facing the alley is the building’s only façade.”

Contact person

Sverre Svendsen

Sivilarkitekt MNAL, Partner

+47 48 27 69 08

sverre.svendsen@ratioark.no

Utsnitt scannet bilde fasade — House for an art collector with access between two urban buildings in Kvadraturen, Oslo.

A small entrance court is defined by a steel gate facing the street. From here, a ramp descends to an intermediate level that connects the lower floor with the existing vaulted cellar, as well as the stair leading upward into the tower. Along the ramp, a framed view opens toward Oslo’s smallest backyard, where a sculpture is placed.

Adjacent to the vaulted cellar is a compact bathroom; otherwise, the interior is conceived as a continuous spatial sequence extending across all levels. The building is constructed with load-bearing masonry walls of lightweight aggregate concrete and timber floor structures. Plastered wall surfaces are finished with silicate paint, applied by sponge in a single continuous process, creating seamless and gradual transitions from pink to blue. Freestanding partitions on the lower floor are finished in contrasting colours.