A striking reinvention of industrial heritage, Kunstsilo emerges as a dynamic cultural landmark on the Odderøya peninsula in Kristiansand, Norway. 

Key features 

Originally a grain silo built in 1935, this functionalist relic finds new life in the form of Kunstsilo – an adaptive reuse project led by BAX, Mendoza Partida and Mestres Wåge. Stemming from an international competition-winning proposal in 2016, the transformation reimagines the existing grain silo as a contemporary centre with a threefold purpose: a music school, arts incubator and contemporary art museum.

At the institution’s core is silosalen, a towering 21-m high public foyer carved out of the silo’s cylindrical mass. Both integral and expressive, these sculptural monoliths frame the building’s contemporary happenings through an industrial lens. The vast cathedral-like void anchors the museum, its raw concrete surfaces punctuated by walkable glass skylights and lateral perforations that enhance spatial and visual connectivity. The structure’s soaring nature counterbalances its weighty materiality, creating a tactile interplay between lightness and heaviness, dynamism and stasis, that defines the space. Silosalen functions as a permeable civic hub, linking outward-facing features, including a shop, café, auditorium and temporary exhibition spaces. Dual east and west entrances ensure accessibility, converting the atrium into an open gathering space for the locals and visitors. 

Exhibition galleries unfurl across multiple levels, wrapping around the cylindrical core in a considered rhythm of exposure and enclosure. Strategically placed apertures capture snapshots of Kristiansand’s urban and coastal landscape, rooting the building in its locality. A sculptural terrace on the fifth floor furthers this relationship, offering panoramic vistas, while a transparent multipurpose event space crowns the structure. Retaining historic elements and an exposed material palette, the design nurtures a cohesive dialogue between past and present, enriching Kristiansand’s cultural landscape. 

FRAME’s take 

Attuned to the site’s historical significance, the silo's sensitive yet bold redesign unleashes its contemporary potential. More than a landmark, Kunstsilo has become a cultural catalyst. Housing the world’s largest collection of Nordic modernism – the Tangen Collection – alongside temporary exhibitions with Scandinavian roots, such as Playing with Fire: Edmund de Waal and Axel Salto, the institution intertwines historical significance with contemporary discourse. Its design, programme and local focus reaffirm the potential of adaptive reuse to enrich communities – a reminder of the untapped possibilities of many heritage sites. 

Institutions implementing design strategies such as this welcome a new dawn for public architecture – one that is as community-oriented as it is sustainably-minded. Fotografiska Shanghai and Fotografiska Berlin are similarly aligned, preserving architectural character while introducing dynamic new uses aligned with the arts. Kunstsilo, with its carefully orchestrated balance of preservation and innovation, not only embodies this philosophy but sets a compelling precedent for future cultural spaces.