Client
Sauda Municipality
Function
Rehabilitation and extension of cultural centre with multipurpose hall and culture school
Folkets Hus in Sauda was built through extensive volunteer efforts, based on architect Gustav Helland’s designs. The building combines clear neoclassical features with a simple, robust expression. The main hall is decorated with wall murals by Ragnvald Eikeland and Håkon Landa from 1953, and the original structure was proposed for heritage protection in 2021.
The new Folkets Hus now includes a multipurpose hall, café/foyer, kitchen, storage areas, offices, and rehearsal rooms for the cultural school and youth club. A dedicated loading zone at the rear helped define both the architectural and functional concept.
The original building has a street-level entrance leading up to the cloakroom and support spaces, with symmetrical staircases guiding visitors to the main hall and gallery. The stage sits on its own level with separate access. As the building lacked elevators or ramps, ensuring universal accessibility became a key task.
The project introduces a new volume with an entrance aligned to the original cloakroom level, reached by an integrated street-level ramp. A new elevator serves both public areas and back-of-house functions, connecting the upper hall, stage, and cultural school. Between the historic building and the new hall lies a café/foyer under a large glass roof, with the original façade forming one side of the space. This courtyard-like area preserves the character of the old building while new galleries and the elevator tower bring it to life. The interior façade of the extension is clad in slats and acoustic plaster to balance sound against the glass roof, hard floors, and the original plastered wall.
The new 120 m² multipurpose hall features a flat floor, telescopic seating, and a mirrored wall for dance use. Direct access to storage and the loading area supports flexible stage setups, exhibitions, and movement-based activities. Its subdued acoustics allow varied performances with electronic enhancement.
Back-of-house functions include offices, a music workshop, and archive/storage on the ground floor, with soundproofed rehearsal rooms above. These rooms have angled walls for optimal use in music education, including brass and percussion.
The new building’s second floor aligns with the original stage level, ensuring a seamless and fully accessible connection between old and new.
The original hall has been carefully restored. Its most significant upgrade is a new acoustically dampened ceiling and wall curtains that reduce reverberation without altering the character of the room or detracting from the extensive murals depicting scenes from Sauda’s class society and rural culture of the 1950s.
