The Architecture and the Archives studio series address the expanding scope of evidence used to value existing buildings in projects of restoration, reconfiguration or adaption. As methods for valuing architecture develop, existing buildings are increasingly subjected to cultural, political and economic debate. Public pressure and ecological concern are making the threshold for demolishing existing buildings higher. Assessing when a building’s life is over, or when to advocate repair and reuse, requires a new set of skills from architects. Tools and methods borrowed from architectural history and theory, preservation and curatorial practices are used to comprehend and communicate cultural meaning.

This semester, we will investigate the beautiful and mysterious Holmsbu kunstmuseum (originally Holmsbu billedgalleri), designed by Bjart Mohr, and completed in 1973. The museum, which re-opened in 2025, commemorates how Scandinavian painters, most famously Henrik Sørensen, Thorvald Erichsen and Oluf Wold-Torne, gathered in Holmsbu in the summer season. Between 1911 and 1962, more than a hundred painters were part of this unique artists’ colony, often staying in old cabins moved to the Holmsbu forest from Hurum and Telemark.

The Holmsbu Museum was founded by the son of Henrik Sørensen, Sven Oluf Sørensen, a nuclear physicist and professor whose thinking was influenced by the philosopher Arne Næss and contemporary Norwegian nature-oriented philosophy. With its exquisite setting, sculptural form, and meticulous craftsmanship, Mohr’s museum design exemplifies an architecture deeply rooted in place and local history. The building was erected by local volunteers over a decade (1963–1973). Throughout the construction period, every effort was made to protect the site’s natural terrain and vegetation. Perched on the steep, forested slope above the Drammensfjord, its façades are clad in large blocks of local red granite excavated from the site. In 1983, the building received the Houen Foundation Diploma for outstanding architecture.

Throughout the semester, we will immerse ourselves in archives, both physical and digital, collecting and producing material for an architecture exhibition about the original Holmsbu Museum, the architect Bjart Mohr, and his broader body of work. We will discuss our findings with our official partners, Museene i Akershus and Holmsbu Kunstmuseum, as well as with a series of invited lecturers and scholars. We will visit selected buildings across the country. Through the process, we will uncover a largely overlooked chapter of Norwegian architectural history and reflect on how architecture can be reactivated through research, exhibition, and dialogue.

The studio is part of the international research project Provenance Projected. Architecture Past and Future in the Era of Circularity led by Professor Mari Lending.