Rather than housing artefacts, the Whale will be a museum above the Arctic Circle that puts the underwater world on display. Rose Dykins reports
Coming to Norway in June 2023, the Whale museum will offer a unique way to experience orcas and whales up close, with its ambitious design that combines architecture with conservation.
Dorte Mandrup, the design firm behind the museum, says: “The exhibition will curate a meeting between whale and human, nature and culture.
“Through art and science, a visit to the Whale will be a poetic exploration of different universes – below and above water – inspired by the whales’ journey around the globe. A journey where boundaries are not defined by nationality or drawn by culture.”
Pilot, mink and sperm whales can be spotted in Andenes in June until August. Meanwhile, during the winter, orcas and humpback whales can be seen on their migration journey through the fjords of Vesterålen and the Lofoten archipelago, which is just to the south of Andenes.
Dorte Mandrup’s design for the Whale aims to highlight the visual connection between the museum’s exhibition and its natural surroundings. The structure maximises the views of the mountains and archipelago, while natural rock will be incorporated into the building in several places.
The Whale is part of a trend that is emerging for architecturally extraordinary galleries and museums (such as the forthcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in LA and Zaha Hadid’s Museum of Science and Technology in Shenzhen) around the world, which will be attractions in their own right, as well as for what they display.