The Cultural Square in Lindesnes

The Cultural Square is located in Vigeland, Lindesnes municipality, and houses the local museum, library, municipal service center, and café. The museum includes an exhibition of graphic works by Gustav Vigeland, on loan from the Vigeland Museum in Oslo. The building covers approximately 1,700 m² including basement, and the project also involved development of the surrounding park area, with a public square and covered outdoor stage.

A private donation covering about half of the project costs enabled Lindesnes municipality to realize the Cultural Square. The new building is connected to the former town hall at Vigeland, and accommodates the library, local museum, and municipal service center. Ratio won the limited planning and design competition in 2006. The building opened in June 2009.

The building’s volumes express its three main functions. The library and service center are given a light and open character, with façades in aluminum profiles and glass; enclosed sections are clad with enamelled glass in reddish tones. The museum is designed as a mysterious, closed volume, clad externally with iron-vitriol-treated aspen. Varying panel dimensions create a lively façade. Aspen is a significant element of the local vegetation and has historically been used as exterior cladding, particularly on outbuildings and boathouses. Over time, the wood develops a fine silver-grey patina.

The library is located at ground level, while the museum’s exhibitions unfold across three floors. Openings in the slabs, both exterior and interior, create spatial surprises.

The building is equipped with solar collectors, which, in combination with an air-to-water heat pump, provide its primary source of heating. The project received exemplary support from Enova.

The artistic decoration is an integrated treatment of the gable wall, by artist Jorunn Sannes.