Andorra, a country with a rich history, is undergoing a period of redefinition. From a population of 6,000 in 1950 to over 80,000 in 2024, and with a constitution just 30 years old, Andorra has transitioned from a small agricultural community to a significant tourist destination, welcoming over eight million visitors annually.

The proposal for a new national museum in Andorra aims to reflect and further define this evolving identity.

The architectural concept envisions the museum as a microcosm of the country; a valley, with each mountain representing a facet of Andorra’s history—the co-principality status and what this has meant for the country, and its identity as a mountainous nation. At the center lies a space embodying Andorra’s spirit, serving as a venue for the celebration and preservation of its cultural heritage, and its future.

In essence, the proposed museum not only symbolizes Andorra’s journey but also reflects its future, embracing diversity and fostering unity amidst its varied historical and cultural landscape.

In the most recent project at AHO, we were tasked with transforming a plot of land in the northwest of Oslo. The plot had previously been home to various high schools but now sat in the heart of the emerging hub of research and educational institutions known as Oslo Science City. Our task was more open-ended than ever before; all the issues, program, and scope were entirely up to us. I aimed to find a deeper meaning in my project beyond the purely technical and architectural aspects.

Eventually, I settled on the issue of the devaluation of vocational education in Norway over the past decades, where we struggle to educate skilled workers and are projected to lack around 100,000 skilled workers by 2035. I believe that theory and practice should not be seen as opposites but rather as prerequisites for good innovation. With the plot located in the heart of Oslo Science City, I saw it as a golden opportunity to create a space where bright minds and skilled hands could come together.

The most crucial consideration for the design, and the most significant challenge, has been the Ring Road, with its traffic volume of 50,000 vehicles per day and noise levels exceeding 65 dB. The innovation center is placed as a noise barrier against the Ring Road.

Since the southern facade needs to be relatively closed, all primary living areas will face atriums or towards the square in front.

The volumes are fragmented in heights and lengths. The buildings are two stories high, where theoretical activities take place on the upper floor and workshops are located on the ground level. Service functions are positioned along the outer walls, primarily facing south.

Since the buildings must function as a ‘noise barrier’, and must run parallel to the Ring Road, this has also determined the main orientation of the entire complex, with two main streets and various connections between them.

In the fourth semester at the School of Architecture, we were assigned a site in Tretten, Innlandet. The site sloped downhill along the north-south axis, with a river running to the west.The program we had to accommodate was an elementary school, with seven grades, one class per grade.The initial question, as quite often elsewhere, was: how should the future construction on the site relate to the site itself?

Inspired by the area’s archetypal Norwegian character, with turf roofs, panel architecture, and climate, I chose to explore this direction as well. I became fascinated by how the old Norwegian clustered farms nestled into the terrain and decided to experiment in that direction.

The gymnasium is inspired by the traditional barn. Children enter via a playfully designed barn bridge, leading to the second floor where the changing rooms are located. Large doors can be opened, allowing events like national day celebra- tions and flea markets to spill into the hall.

To minimize the feeling of being observed, which can be distracting for children during gym sessions, the large windows are covered with slats. This design element is reminiscent of the way light used to filter through old barn panels.

In general, the buildings are two stories high, with each floor catering to its respective level. In this project, the roofs are largely perceived as the building’s fifth facade. Therefore, they are covered with traditional materials that blend with the surroundings: slate and turf.

In this way, the scale of the buildings feels smaller when you are on the different levels — something I aimed for, considering that the children are the primary users of the facility, and it was their scale that should set the tone.

In a newly renovated home in Bygdøy, Oslo, the client had installed a new toilet with a large window facing directly towards the main entrance. Naturally, he wanted a solution that could provide privacy from the entrance area while allowing in natural light and the morning sun.

It seemed natural to opt for a slat solution, and I chose vertically oriented slats, as they could meet the morning sun at an appropriate angle. I conducted tests both digitally and in the real world with good distances between the slats and the angling.

To my great delight, the concept worked as hoped: one couldn’t see inside where it wasn’t intended, the light came in, and most importantly, one felt a sense of privacy.

Living in a flat share teaches valuable lessons in maximizing personal space. In such settings, one's bedroom must serve multiple purposes: functioning as a sleeping area, workspace, social hub, and creative sanctuary. To optimize my own space, I chose to downsize my bed to a single size, with the ability of transforming it into a sofa during the day. Frustrated by the overly intricate or prohibitively expensive bed designs on the market, I embarked on the challenge of constructing my own, ensuring both simplicity and affordability without compromising on quality. Inspired by Japanese wood joinery techniques, I crafted this multipurpose piece from solid oak, using an old kitchen top repurposed into the bed's legs. The bed is made without screws or glue, using only joinery and dowels for assembly.

In Etterstad, we were tasked with designing a workshop. My concept was to create a sort of model-making facility, where architects could access laser cutters, CNC mills, metal, plastic, and woodworking shops to build their models. A kind of AHO (Oslo School of Architecture and Design) for professionals — and indeed, AHO was my primary reference here. With a construction hall at one end, followed by workshops in a linear spatial arrangement.

The building features large garage doors that can be opened on hot summer days, allowing the production to extend outdoors. On the second floor, there is a break room for the staff, as well as the light layer that diffuses the overhead light into the workshops.

On an imaginary windswept plateau in the mountains, I was to build a studio for an artist. The studio was to be constructed in layers within an outer frame of 6x6x6 meters. This project was primarily a study in form, where I sought a design that would gently meld into the flat landscape, almost rising up like the mountains do on the plateau.

The result for the construction was six discs that gradually change ridge points and height. Between each of these discs, there are different functions, and the discs are then chiseled open as needed. On the outermost disc, there is a large, north-facing window that ensures ample light for the artist. I was fascinated by how the straight lines come together to form curves and how the building looks different from every angle.

During the summer holiday a couple of years ago, my family and I stumbled upon a surplus of discarded windows, which sparked the idea to construct a greenhouse. I meticulously measured each window and utilized a visualization program to map out the plan, effectively solving the puzzle of configuring them into a cohesive greenhouse structure.

The competition aimed to improve the existing rest area at Hesthamar in Hardanger. Our idea was quite simple: to activate the site. We felt that a common trend in many of the rest areas designed by the Norwegian Scenic Routes is their somewhat detached relationship with nature and surroundings. The usual process in their projects is to drive to the sites, take a picture, and then move on. They lack incentives to actually experience the nature they visit. Therefore, we wanted to create a playground.

The concept was simple: the nature on the site was good enough on its own; we just wanted to create objects that could incentivize play and activity. We drew inspiration from Isamu Noguchi when designing the shapes, a sculptor who, during his career, also designed playgrounds. We shared his fundamental belief that the objects should not be too prescriptive in dictating how play should unfold, but that the creative child would figure it out on their own.

In 2023, I had the opportunity to design a book cover for Aschehoug, a prominent publishing house in Norway. The book garnered high praise from critics and earned a nomination as one of Aftenposten's top ten books of the year.

The experience provided invaluable insights into the intricacies of the publishing industry and the technical requirements for creating print-ready designs. Working with CMYK proved to be an enriching challenge, further enhancing my understanding of color management in print production.

As part of acquainting myself with metalworking techniques and welding, I crafted a coffee table for personal use. Inspired by the structural concept of tensegrity, my design embodied a contemporary interpretation of this principle.

The steel pipes are welded together, and the wires are custom-made with a brass tip soldered into one end and a threaded rod at the other, ensuring a secure and tight construction.

During my first semester at architecture school, we were each assigned a reference project to analyze for inspiration. I was given House N by Sou Fujimoto, a building structured like a Russian Babushka doll with three nested components. Fujimoto's innovative inclusion of the garden as a spatial element particularly caught my attention, influencing my subsequent project. I designed a day center for individuals with dementia, drawing inspiration from the therapeutic effects of sensory gardens on memory and cognitive health.

A collaborative endeavor undertaken by the entire class involved the design of concrete elements spanning 1x1 meter each. These elements were subsequently integrated into a wooden platform, with each serving distinct functions.

Our assigned task was the creation of the platform entrance. Other elements were designated for seating, mingling, and socializing purposes. Through this project, we gained valuable insights into constructing formworks and executing concrete casting techniques.

Photographed by Severin K. Ingebretsen.

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