Arkitektfirma Helen & Hard, AS

Flekkefjord Cultural Center

Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran

FLEKKEFJORD CULTURAL CENTER

Helen & Hard

CATEGORY
Cultural Center

LOCATION
Flekkefjord, Norway

ARCHITECTS
Helen & Hard

MANUFACTURERS
GRAPHISOFT, Cembrit, JEZET SEATING, Kebony, LIGNOTREND, Wicona, Adobe Systems Incorporated, Icopal Noxite, Robert McNeel & Associates

AREA
3500 m²

YEAR
2016

PHOTOGRAPHS
Jiri Havran

Text description provided by architect.

The project is situated on the waterfront of Flekkefjord, a town on Norway’s south coast. it incorporates a theater hall, cinema, library, black box, youth club, and a cultural school.

Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran

The task was to combine various cultural functions as compact and efficient as possible and to create spaces that facilitate synergies, multi-use and attractive meeting places. It should be inviting and inspiring and build further on Flekkefjord's identity.

The main gesture of the cultural centre is the large stairwell towards the plaza and harbor, both indoor and outdoor, which leads the audience from the entrance to all public functions in the higher stories.

Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran

The outdoor stair doubles as a south-facing amphi and extends the public area of the plaza up on the façade of the cultural centre.

Indoor the stairs help to distribute the audience to different levels from the lower foyer at larger events, without the foyer seeming empty at smaller events.

Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran

In the evening the stairs and the foyer-ceiling visually transform communication- and mingling areas into one big space connecting to the plaza outside.

This spatial continuity is accentuated by a stepped ceiling design folding down to form the back wall of the foyer and linking to the large frontal stairwell in similar red colour and lighting strips marking the steps.

Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran

The cantilevering roof structure over the foyer is made of glue-laminated timber beams, other walls and floors are made in concrete clad with birch plywood in the public areas.

The building is situated in Flekkefjord´s traditional city structure of white timber clad 2-3 story buildings. A challenge was to adapt the new large building in scale and materiality to the existing buildings.

Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran

This is achieved by keeping heights low and with a roof geometry that is shaped and adjusted to different contextual situations. One smaller traditional house on the plot was kept and built around.

The facades towards the city have smaller openings which relate to the typical vernacular façade rhythms clad in white timber panels whilst towards the public square and the fjord view the facades open up with a generous reception hall reaching over three stories.


Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
© Jiri Havran


Flekkefjord Cultural Center
Facade South 1-200
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
Facade East 1-200


Flekkefjord Cultural Center
Section 01
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
Section 02


Flekkefjord Cultural Center
1st floor plan
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
2rd floor plan
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
3rd floor plan
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
4th floor plan
Flekkefjord Cultural Center
Situation plan

Arkitektfirma Helen & Hard, AS
T +47 406 40672
Arkitektfirma Helen & Hard, AS
Erfjordgata 8, 4014 Stavanger, Norway