Landmark Bergen Art Hall
‘(…) it is in this way a dynamic part of the city, always changing, never predictable’
“art is, much more than previously, recognized as a social matter”
Roar Sletteland
3RW arkitekter were commissioned to refurbish the old restaurant in the Bergen Art Museum, into an exhibition space for electronic art and music. Landmark is a multi-purpose space, designed and equipped with technical features that enable rapid transformation from art-gallery, to relaxed cafe, to cinema, to concert hall and nightclub. The floor and technical installations where covered with a wool carpet folding up on the first part of the wall giving the space a warm, private atmosphere. Light boxes on the wall changes the color and light during the day and night. It is in this way a dynamic part of the city, always changing, never predictable.
One example we are witnessing today is the ongoing explosion of the musical scene in Bergen, with a huge increase of the industry. A part of this success has to do with the particular streetbased pattern that has been able to accommodate the wide assemblage of the music ecology, allowing different players to utilize the space at different scales. Along this cultural axis and the ‘thickened’ area that it creates, one can find places ranging from national institutions to underground alternative stages, all within a few minutes walking distance. In fact, one could spend days or maybe weeks exploring the different art venues and expressions along the cultural strip. One of the most vibrant stages for new music and art venues is Landmark.
”The most special thing about the place is probably that Landmark both identity wise and practically can hold an enormous spectrum of events in a good way. One of the most rewarding things to see was just how this width grew, and gradually broke down distinctions between different professions and expressions. In a few years we managed to change the audience’s experience of the place so much that we could finally fill Landmark to the brim with events which were initially perceived as so acute that only a few particularly interested bother to show up.”
– Fredrik Saroea, booking agent, Bergen Art Hall in Perspective 2001-2013.
