The new museum is organized around a linear ‘fjord’ that weaves together stories of homeland and the Nordic American experience. Bridges crossing the fjord intensify the experience of migration, connecting Nordic and Nordic American exhibits. The bridges are nail-laminated timber (NLT) and span 23-foot over the internal fjord. A vertically-striated zinc skin wraps the building exterior; inside, fjord walls are composed of faceted white planes evoking its glacial origins.

A COMMUNITY PRESENCE

Active social areas – ‘kaffe,’ store, auditorium and classrooms – are permeable to the street and pedestrians, in contrast with the sheltering walls of exhibit areas. The streetscape evokes the archipelago, with sinuous shapes modulating the pedestrian edge.