M A R K A P O R T E N
Markaporten is a visitor centre for Naturvernforbundet, conceived as a gateway between the city and the forest landscape of Marka.
The visitor centre combines a large, flexible room for lectures, exhibitions and gatherings with a generous covered outdoor classroom facing the forest. Within a simple building envelope, a continuous, branching spine organises the programme, gathering exhibition surfaces, storage and supporting functions while defining spaces for arrival, circulation, learning and gathering.
The architecture takes its starting point in Naturvernforbundet’s work to protect natural forest and promote alternatives to clear-cut forestry. In contrast to the regularity of a managed forest, the internal landscape draws on the diversity and irregularity of natural forest, where different species, ages and scales coexist. The spine widens, narrows and changes direction, creating spaces of different scales and degrees of enclosure within the larger structure.
At the entrance, the building opens towards the forest, where the internal landscape extends into a covered outdoor classroom and amphitheatre. This provides a sheltered place for large groups to gather before heading out into Marka, bringing teaching and gathering into direct contact with the forest.
Client: Naturvernforbundet Oslo og Akershus
Date: 2019
Location: Nord Marka, Oslo, Norway
Status: Sketch project
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