Berlin - Los Angeles
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Arctic Cultural Centre
Hammerfest, Norway
Located within the extreme environmental conditions of northernmost town the Arctic Culture Centre is an extroverted, climatically active and user-interactive bow. It is dynamically poised between three poles: town centre, harbour and beach. The volume of the building reacts to local forces of wind, sunlight and sound, intelligently using what it can from the available resources as well as giving back to the environment. A reflective and shiny metal skin forms a loosely layered structure that peels at different angles in reaction to different environmental conditions thus accommodating sun shielding, sun-reflecting, ventilation, acoustics, and artificial lighting in combinations. As the light conditions change during the days and the seasons, the Arctic Culture Centre is transformed from a reflective sculptural form into a light-emitting lantern, while remaining a vibrant focal point seen across the bay from the city centre.