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Snohetta
Today a biblical scholar in Egypt and a Norwegian diplomat in Berlin, are almost certain to be working in surroundings designed by a company with the unusual name 'Snohetta'. In the near future, operas in Oslo and brain surgery in Marseilles will be performed in environments created by the same company. Snohetta's international staff of 13 architects, 7 landscape architects, and 2 interior designers, represents a new approach to architecture where the focus is on the total environment, not just the structure. Though founded as late as 1989 the company's merit list is impressive in terms of competitions entered, prizes garnered and projects completed. The company takes its name from a characteristic mountain peak in the Rondane Mountains in central Norway. The new Library in Alexandria, Egypt, is a perfect example of Snohetta's competence. In 1989, against 500 competitors, the company submitted the winning design for the library. A year later the landscaping and interior design contracts were also awarded to Snohetta. The total cost of the project, excluding land, is $220 million and the annual operating expenses are expected to be about $20 - $22 million. The first book was in place on August 1 2001 and by October 1 the library housed 130,000 books including a unique collection of rare manuscripts. The official opening on April 23 - 25, 2002 will be a major international cultural event. Norwegian authorities have already donated half a million Norwegian kroner to the production of a television program of the opening days. Dr Ismail Serageldin, the Librarian of Alexandria, says that the role of the library is as a research center, as a university institution and as a library for the general public. His aims are to use the library as Egypt's window to and from the world, to create a library for the digital age and to develop a center of learning and dialogue. As his spur, Dr Serageldin almost certainly has the ancient library of Alexandria in mind. The 'Bibliotecha Alexandrina', a fountain of knowledge in the ancient world, was founded by one of the early Ptolemic dynasty who ruled Egypt from about 330 BC until the Romans came in 30 BC. The library had a copy of every existing scroll known at the time. The collection reputedly grew to over 900,000 manuscripts – some of them borrowed from Athens and other cultural centers and then copied. Legend has it that Ptolemy II imprisoned 70 Jewish scholars on the island of Pharos until they produced the Septuagint, the first Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. No trace of the ancient library exists today and scholars continue to discuss the circumstances surrounding its disappearance. According to some sources, the library burned down during the reign of Julius Caesar but many questions remain unanswered: burned by whom? why? and what happened to the manuscripts? Opera in Oslo has no pretensions to fame compared with scholarly Alexandria. The old Opera House, as much maligned for its air-conditioning and acoustics as for its architecture, is still in use. For at least two decades a debate has raged, not so much about the necessity of a new Opera House, artists, administrators and public all wanted out, but about where should it be located? The final choice fell to Bjorvika on the eastern edge of Oslo harbor, a barren, run-down port area that was ripe for development. On June 22 2000, from 230 entries, a unanimous jury awarded Snohetta First Prize in the open international competition for the New National Opera House. The jury characterized the winning design as: “a poetic and practical response to a demanding assignment… The design takes from the city and gives back to the city; it directs, but is nevertheless subservient and puts people and the magic and power of the Opera House at the center of the place. It creates an unexpected dynamic both externally and internally to the benefit of lovers of opera and ballet, the city of Oslo and the international community.” The people of Oslo are certainly expecting great benefits. The whole Bjorvika area, soon to be dominated by the New Opera house, is in the process of being rehabilitated. A new high-rise Opera Hotel, overlooking the harbor, is already welcoming visitors. By the time the necessary political decisions are made and the new Opera House is open for business. hopefully in 2008, perhaps both visitors and the international community will recognize Snohetta as a leading name in architecture? Geoffrey K.Ward
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Architecture has long been recognized by the work of architects, mostly men, who designed buildings that delighted or inflamed public and critics alike. Frank Lloyd Wright, Eric Saarinan, Jorn Utzon and Frank Gehry are names that conjure up images of their designs: the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Sydney Opera House and the new, Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.  |
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