Winner: The Twist

Entered by AKT II / Bjarke Ingels Group

A gallery, a sculpture and a bridge all in one – and part of the Kistefos contemporary art museum and sculpture park 65km north-west of Oslo, Norway – The Twist is an 87m-long structure that torques over the River Randselva, creating a sculptural, twisting bridge that allows the two embankments on different levels to meet. The project team worked closely with fabricators to understand the supply and installation costs from an early stage to ensure the scheme would develop in line with budget, site and fabrication constraints.

It was clear from the outset that the construction costs and extent of temporary works could have been much greater had they not been assessed hand-in-hand with the main structure. Such investigations proved fruitful, with the final geometry of the structure allowing less steel to be used in its construction than would otherwise have been the case. The resulting museum has a double-height column-free gallery space, which twists to create a meandering and winding exhibition space internally. Since opening, the building has significantly increased visitor numbers for Kistefos. The success of the building is a function of the design quality and how it amplifies the relationship between the bridge, the river and the landscape.

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