Hurtigrutemuseet – Nowegian Coastal Express Museum

LINK Arkitektur has created a successful solution for the new Hurtigruten Museum. It is a signal building, it supports the museum's functional needs,  as well as being a  positive contribution to the local area.

The assignment includes Vernebygg for MS Finnmarken 1956, rebuilding of Trekantbygget, and an extension to this for the preserved section from DS Finnmarken 1912. The solution to preserving the monument of Norwegian coastal history is a building of 3600 square meters that encloses the ship, mainly built in steel and glass. The shape of the building is inspired by the sloping shape of the ship's sides. MS Finnmarken was the first ship with a sloping shape on the openings, which gave the impression of moving forward fast. The shape is inspired by this idea and the concept supports this both in volume and design.

Impressive glass facades

The main challenge in designing the glass constructions was the significant scale of the facades and the demanding weather conditions. The building moves up to 70 mm at the top and connected to an existing building, so flexible solutions had to be developed to intercept the movements. A white frame surrounds the building, which is open to the east and west, with a large and open glass wall that presents the ship from the seaside.

Norway's tourist attraction no. 1

The existing building together with the protective conservation building at the Hurtigruten Museum will house the exhibition which tells the story of the coastal express line. As a visitor, you will be able to move from the hold, to the bridge, the galley, the saloon, and the cabins taken from the DS Steamship. In the ship's old cafeteria, you can also feel the buzz of history and have a bite to eat or something to drink. In 2020, the new Hurtigruten Museum was mentioned by Aftenposten as Norway's tourist attraction no 1.