Location: Drøbak, Norway
FOLLO MUSEUM

The project Lille Torget is inspired by the qualities of the existing museum and its surrounding. It enhances its unique setting and reinterpretes the museums landscape in a new way. The project subtly transforms today’s museum into a resilient multi faceted little sentrum. The new verksteds bygget and lille torget form the base for the future of Follo Museum Drøbak

Follo museum Drøbak is a collection of several older buildings. Together they create a hamlet. There is, among other things, a school, farm with livestock, handicraft yard and several other exciting places to discover. Follo museum is continuously expanded with more historic buildings and now, a new workshop building.

In order to provide the museum with the necessary infrastructure for further development, a large part of the design approach will be to create clear zones and relationships. The purpose is a simple orientation for visitors and a lasting picture of the museum's arena. An existing square will be created next to the existing museum building, which will be the center of the Follo museum. The square is a living arena for crafts and cultural heritage. Here, professionals, the public and students meet. Many of the events held throughout the year find a place here under the roof around the square. At the same time, it opens up the possibility of several new activities suitable for young and old.

Today, the museum is an important part of Drøbak. Not only as a cultural place, but also as a meeting place for families on the weekends and for the elderly in the municipality. Many people use the place and the surrounding area for walks with the dog or jogging. The fact that people can meet there informally is a unique potential and a quality that we want to support in the new development. Therefore, great emphasis is placed on outdoor areas retaining the semi-public character and that the outdoor areas break up the impression from the buildings by forming visual connections between the different areas of the museum.

The special atmosphere between the oak trees, where the workshop building will stand, was a great inspiration for the project. The fantastic soft light that falls through the treetops should also be part of the interior. Therefore, the roof consists of several layers of semi-transparent sandwich panels that allow indirect lighting and shadow play from the trees.
The forest itself is framed by the two new parts of the workshop building. All rooms open onto the forest and the forest becomes part of the building. A third room connects the two parts of the building together into one.

To meet the current need for sustainable building, the project will transform and reuse the existing museum building to a large extent. The floor plans are flexible so that larger rooms can be temporarily divided into several smaller sections with movable walls if needed. The rooms are universally designed and offer multifunctional use. The flexibility allows space-efficient utilization of the area.

The new building is a simple traditional wooden construction with a twist. An unusual roof. The roof consists of three layers. The outer layer protects against weather and wind and spans parts of the outdoor area. The two inner layers form three layers of insulating air. From the outside, the wooden structure under the roof becomes visible when it gets dark. The result is a mixture of historical and new construction methods in wood.