studio ALL's faceted stone facade plays with light on city hall in norway

just north of the polar circle, danish studio ALL, atelier lorentzen langkild, designed a contemporary city hall for the municipality of bodø, norway. the 12,000 sqm city hall located in the mountainous city consists of a new building and the transformation of two existing, preserved buildings. the new town hall unites the three buildings into one flexible plan, organized with a circular flow around a spectacular wooden atrium. 

all images © adam mørk

the new addition the bodø city hall adjacent to the old city hall and old bank.

studio ALL’s new city hall is a crystalline stone volume, with facades that slope towards the lower, existing buildings. the angles of the façade are drawn from the existing rooflines and create a textured and aesthetic exterior. the facade’s faceted geometry catches the dramatic changing light conditions north of the polar circle. 

the main entry shows the connection between the three buildings. 

the new city hall hosts a modern workspace for 400 employees. the refreshed building is a keystone linking and transforming the flow of the existing buildings to create a flexible, circular flow around a tall and dramatic atrium. this atriums acts as the citizens’ forum meant to be used a public square with meeting rooms and public services. 

warm, wooden surfaces bring the scandinavian homestyle into the workplace.

workspaces extend up five floors in connection with the atrium. there is a cafeteria on the sixth and top floor with magnificent views towards the surrounding ocean and mountains. the existing buildings on the site are comprised of the old city hall, with a brown plaster façade, and the old national bank, clad in a richly patterned natural stone. 

a vertical visual connection is achieved through the staggered balconies. 

the new building is shaped with sloping facades mirroring the roofs of the existing buildings. this creates a unity between old and new which is further emphasized with the brownish jura gelb stone used for the facade of the new building. the color resembles that of the old city hall while the stone pattern resembles that of the national bank facade. 

per kristian nygård’s arwork features furniture pieces that defy gravity, pinned against an atrium’s side. 

the façade is a modular system with horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines that create a singular volume as a whole and in detail. studio ALL intended for the different angles of the stone catch the light and cast shadow for an ever-changing play of light. the interior is lined with light ash wood, both on the walls and ceilings. the uniform wooden lining creates a warm, scandinavian home-like feeling and is combined with an office layout based on new ways of working. this way the home workspace has been brought to the office. 

space connecting the old city hall and the new.

the atrium around which the workspaces wrap recalls a piranesi drawing. it features the staggered balconies, setback atrium fronts, varied floor heights, and a vertiginous art piece, ‘dikt til byråkratiet’, by the artist per kristian nygård, mounted on the wall and spanning the full height of the atrium. the landscape around the city hall consists of beautifully shaped public areas and squares with seating. these are covered in natural stone.

the main atrium acts as a city’s public space within the building.

view from the cafeteria to the town.

the old building contrasts against the its new, textured neighbor.

the crystalline stone volume mediates the scales of the three buildings.

the differing light reflections create a monochromatic color palette on the facade.

project info:

architecture: studio ALL

project name: bodø city hall

location: bodø, norway

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edited by: cristina gomez | designboom