Details have been revealed for what is being described as the world's most radical and environmentally-friendly furniture factory and visitor centre. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) for Vestre, the 6,500sq m factory – called The Plus – is in Magnor, Norway. It will be a "global showcase for sustainability" and highly-efficient manufacturing. As well as a fully functional factory, The Plus will include a visitor centre and a 300-acre

The world’s first energy-positive hotel, called Svart, is due to open early in 2022. Designed by Snøhetta, the circular 99-room hotel will be situated on the Holandsfjorden fjord at the foot of the Svartisen glacier in Norway, raised up above the fjord on a wooden support structure. Developed by Miris, the hotel is located north of the Arctic Circle and is expected to use around 85 per cent less energy

The Snøhetta -designed energy-positive hotel Svart, which will be situated on the Holandsfjorden fjord at the foot of the Svartisen glacier in Norway’s Meløy municipality, has been given an opening date of 2022. The concept, which was revealed in 2018, is still on course to be completed in 2021. Developed by Miris and designed to the Powerhouse standard, it is expected to use around 85 per cent less energy than

Danish architects BOGL have won a design competition to redevelop central parts of Tananger, Norway, with a masterplan that will relocate its main square to reconnect the town with the ocean. Tananger's history is closely related to the sea, but the town has developed in such a way that it has been largely cut off from the water. With the town's population expected to double over the next 30 years,

Dorte Mandrup and her studio have won a competition to design an attraction dedicated to whales that will rise organically out of the ground and merge with the surrounding landscape. Called The Whale, it will be located 300km (186mi) north of the Arctic Circle on the northernmost part of Andøya island in Andenes, Norway. The area is regarded as one of the best places in the world for whale-watching and

The Twist – a museum designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) – is set to make its debut on 18 September in Hønefoss, Norway. Situated in the Kistefos Museum's 270,000 sq m sculpture park, the new structure – which has been described as an “art museum, sculpture, path in the landscape, and bridge" – spans the Randselva river. The Twist will house three galleries dedicated to contemporary art The site used

A concept design for a "world-class" visitor centre at a Norwegian salmon farm has been unveiled by Danish exhibition design company Kvorning Design & Communication. It's hoped that The Salmon Eye visitor centre at seafood company Eide Fjordbruk's fish farming site in Hardangerfjord, Norway, will draw attention to and increase dialogue about standards of aquaculture, encouraging innovation. Should the project go forward following approval from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries,

The Britannia Hotel – once a turn-of-the-century pied-à-terre for aristocrats, Arctic explorers, and literati, has reopened in Trondheim, Norway following a £107m (US$139.5, €123.8m) overhaul. The 148-year-old landmark features 257 newly renovated rooms and suites, as well as revamped common areas, restaurants, and leisure facilities. The spa centre at the Britannia comprises a 200 sq m fitness room, six treatment rooms, a heated lap pool, a sauna, steam bath, ice

The Amerikalinjen Hotel – once the main office of one of Norway's earliest transatlantic cruise lines – has opened in Oslo. Situated on Jernbanetorget Square near the city's opera, the 6,000 sq m Den Norske Amerikalinje (Norwegian American Line) building now features refreshed exteriors by studio Kritt Arkitekter as well as a number of expanded private and common areas designed by Finnish studio Puroplan. The 122-key property, which was originally

Under – an underwater restaurant and research facility that evokes the romance and wonder of Captain Nemo's Nautilus – has opened in Lindesnes, Norway. Conceptualised by Scandinavian design firm Snøhetta, the grey-coloured building, which was shaped to appear like a sunken periscope, can accommodate up to 40 guests and is protected from sea waves by fortress-like concrete walls. Under's interiors, illuminated by greenish LEDs, also add realism to the space,

Frich's Wood Hotel has officially launched inside the recently completed Mjøstarnet building in Brumunddal, Norway. Featuring 72 rooms as well as an exterior garden, a restaurant, a pool, and a bar, the hotel is connected to a range of cycling and walking trails and faces Mjøs, Norway's largest lake. Other elements of the complex include offices and residential facilities. Frich's is part of the 85.4-metre-tall Mjøstarnet property – reportedly the

Nygårdstangen Utvikling—a consortium consisting of developer Olav Thon, building management firm EDG Property and construction company Rexir— has commissioned Denmark-based architects 3XN to design a masterplan proposal for the city of Bergen, Norway. Bergen City has ambitious plans for itself as a Unesco World Heritage Site and, in response, 3XN has created an equally bold masterplan that makes a new arena the of epicentre it. Despite its World Heritage status,

Norway’s Snøhetta and Melbourne, Australia’s NH Architecture have been appointed to reimagine the Arts Centre Melbourne in Australia. The building, originally designed by Australian modernist Roy Grounds and completed in 1984, will be redesigned with modern technological advances in mind. The development of the Arts Centre is being supported by the government of Victoria as part of the AU$208m (US$152m, €132m, £119m) first stage of the transformation of Melbourne’s art

Copenhagen-based design studio Kvorning Design and Communication have created a new installation for Norway's Alta Museum, with the permanent exhibition examining a collection of rock art dating back to the Neolithic era. Located in Alta, Finnmark, the World Heritage Rock Art Centre – also known as the Alta Museum – sits within one of five areas of rock art, which was inscribed on Unesco's World Heritage List in 1985. The

International architects Snøhetta have designed a new planetarium and a visitor centre for Norway’s largest astronomical facility by studying the night sky for design inspiration. Nestled in the dense forest of Harestua, 45km north of Oslo, Solobservatoriet is the largest solar observatory North of the Alps. Its original observatory was built by the University of Oslo for the total solar eclipse of 1954, and a satellite tracking station was established

International architects Snøhetta have unveiled a concept design for the Arctic circle's first ever energy-positive hotel. Situated at the foot of the Svartisen glacier that runs through Meløy, northern Norway, the project, called Svart, will consume around 85 per cent less energy than a modern Norwegian hotel, and produce its own power. The design has been developed by Snøhetta in collaboration with sustainable tourism agency Arctic Adventure of Norway; engineering

A design team led by Norwegian practice Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter has won an invited competition to create a vast cultural hub, topped by a timber tower enclosed in glass, next to Oslo’s historic railway station. The project, called Fjordporten, will be the largest mixed-use complex in Norway. It has been conceived to revitalise the area around the main train station and offer travellers “new spatial and qualitative experiences.” The base

Danish architects COBE and Norwegian beer maker Lervig have unveiled plans for a major waterfront visitor centre and brewery in Stavanger, Norway. Located on a former industrial pier, the 11,000sq m (118,400sq ft) building has been conceived as “a unique attraction for locals and visitors”, with a harbour bath, roof garden and street-food market all incorporated into the mixed-use scheme. COBE have described the design concept as “part architecture, part

Snøhetta have revealed designs for the international architects' latest leisure project – the first underwater restaurant to open in Europe. Located at the southernmost point of the Norwegian coastline, the restaurant, called Under, will double as an aquarium and marine research centre. Snøhetta's design is inspired by the country's rocky coast, with a monolithic structure breaking from the surface of the sea to rest on the craggy shoreline. The bottom

Plans for a brand new waterside aquarium near the Norwegian capital have been unveiled, showing a pair of smooth, undulating domes jutting out into the fjord. Designed by London and Oslo-based practice Haptic Architects, the 10,000sq m (108,000sq ft) aquarium is encircled by walkways, providing a glimpse through the windows to the attraction’s interior. The building features a curved roof that will double as accessible public space. The aquarium will

International architects Snøhetta have completed a new home of fine art, music and design in Bergen, Norway. The complex has been designed for the University of Bergen’s art and design faculty – previously scattered across six buildings – and will be open to the public so that “students, professors, and visitors will connect, discover, and learn from one another”. The 14,800sq m (159,300sq ft) structure is Bergen’s second-largest cultural building,

Fresh off the back of revamping New York's Times Square and designing a major museum celebrating Europe’s oldest cave paintings, architecture studio Snøhetta have completed something rather more intimate: a new range of ready-made mobile cabins. Called Gapahuk, the simple structure is designed to fit into nearly any scenery – from mountains to forest or by the sea. The product has been designed for Rindalshytter, Norway’s leading producer of leisure

Two Barcelona architecture studios will design “one of the leading art museums in the Nordic region” after winning an international competition to create a new home for the Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Kristiansand, Norway. Mestres Wage Arquitectes and MX_SI Architectural Studio from Barcelona will transform a former 1930s wharf-side grain silo into an elegant complex anchoring the city’s new cultural quarter. The design – which was selected over 100 other anonymous

Norway is promoting cycling across the country by investing in ‘bicycle hotels’ – storage facilities by railway stations that double as new public spaces. Oslo studio Various Architects have designed the a prototype Lillestrøm, which is frequently voted Norway's best cycling city. Commissioned by real estate firm ROM Eiendom and The Norwegian National Railways, the Lillestrøm Bicycle Hotel consists of a glass box in which to store bikes and a

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects have won an international architecture competition to design “a new public centre” for the city of Stavanger, Norway. Their successful proposal for Breiavatnet Lanterna envisions a large-scale urban redevelopment of the city’s park and the addition of a 101m (331ft) high rise of flexible space for restaurants, cafes, performing arts spaces, exhibitions, green terraces and offices. Multifunctional leisure facilities will be placed around a large amphitheatre

Oslo studio Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter have completed work on the Norwegian Mountaineering Center, which is designed to resemble a snow-topped peak. Reiulf Ramstad won a design competition for the project in 2009 with their vision for a site that captures the experience of mountaineering through form. Located on the harbourside of Åndalsnes in Norway’s mountainous Romsdalen Valley – the completed structure resembles a angular mountain, with pixelated white shingle cladding

Work has been completed on a unique project for Norway’s National Tourist Route (NTR), with a cluster of prefabricated structures by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor creating a selection of viewpoints and architectural rest stops as part of a project dating back 14 years. Allmannajuvet – which was first conceptualised and commissioned in 2002 by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration – is now open to the public, with the Allmannajuvet zinc