Crossing a river through an art gallery at The Twist

Enter a gallery through one door and the other exit is across the river. The Twist at Kistefos in Norway is both an exhibition space and a bridge. Walking through the riverside sculpture park and into the building leads visitors past artworks to the opposite bank. The route through the park and the visit to the gallery become part of the same journey.

Completed in 2019, the building spans roughly 60 meters across the Randselva River. BIG connected banks at different heights by twisting the center of the structure through 90 degrees. From a distance, it resembles a long metal box turned by hand. The twist creates a striking exterior while joining the spaces at its two ends.

Three galleries with different characters follow one another inside. The windowless Closed Gallery directs attention toward the exhibits. In the central Twist Gallery, walls turn into ceiling; the Panorama Gallery opens toward the river and trees through a long window. The setting behind the art changes during the crossing.

Narrow panels reveal that rotation. Exterior aluminum strips and the white interior finish gradually change angle to form curved surfaces. Lighting was planned around both these surfaces and the art. A familiar white gallery becomes a space where the boundaries of wall and ceiling change along the visitor's path.

Supporting a gallery over a river required structural work of its own. The engineers chose a lightweight, rigid steel space truss and considered on-site assembly of prefabricated components. With no row of columns through the middle of the exhibition space, the whole structure has to carry loads across the river like a bridge.

The Twist completes a loop through the sculpture park, linking paths previously separated by water. Walking through it is different from stopping outside for a photograph. Visitors look at art and follow the water through the windows, then emerge on the opposite bank. The distance between the banks becomes a gallery route.