This vast complex, home to Norway's national opera and ballet companies, has quickly become a new national symbol, much as Jørn Utzon's Sydney Opera House did for Australia decades ago. Envisioned by Snøhetta as a glass and marble "wave wall" where the city meets the ocean, the site was designed as a large white wedge that slopes down into the water. The slanted roof has been transformed into a large public plaza closely connected to the surrounding fjord. Available for around-the-clock use, the roof is a new type of city park in which distinctions between architectural and landscape design, music and dance are productively blurred.

Gallery label from

Making Music Modern: Design for Ear and Eye, November 15, 2014–January 17, 2016.

Architectural firm Snøhetta
Medium Plywood, Plexiglas, styrofoam and paint
Dimensions 12 x 59 x 33" (30.5 x 149.9 x 83.8 cm)
Credit Gift of the Kingdom of Norway, presented by Their Majesties The King and Queen of Norway
Object number 761.2011
Department Architecture & Design

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