The National Opera House (Nytt Operahus) located in the harbour area of Bjørvika, Oslo, has meant a tremendous boost for culture in Norway. The opera house was completed in 2007, opened in April 2008, and won the culture award at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona in October 2008. Due to its size and aesthetics, the opera house stands out from other buildings in the area.
The marbleclad roofscape forms a large public space in the landscape of the city and the fjord. It appears as a national symbol and the innovative design with very few rectangular angels provides an extraordinary acoustic experience.
More than 1,000 rooms
The building contains more than 1,000 rooms and is the workplace for over 600 people from 50 different professions. Total expenditure for the building project was estimated to reach approximately EUR 500 million, but finished ahead of schedule, and EUR 35 million under budget.
As the opera house is situated both on land and on water, there have been several issues to consider relating to the foundation design, handling of polluted soil, control of moisture and the building’s water tightness. To create a stable and dry working environment, the construction required 12,000m2 of steel sheet piling around the perimeter of the site. The foundations needed 28,000m of piles to act as supporting elements for the building above. The piles vary in length and can reach up to 55m below the water surface before meeting stable bedrock.
Our project management division in Oslo has been acting construction manager for geotechnics, steel and concrete constructions, façade engineering and paving of the marble-clad roofscape. In addition, we have been responsible for all necessary approbation procedures and for HSE (Health, Safety & Environment) management.
Total project cost: 4.400 MNOK
Project cost: 55 MNOK