PRESS RELEASE: 3 x light on Ås

The Sørhellinga building at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) in Ås has undergone complete restoration. In conjunction with this work, Public Art Norway (KORO) has produced three art projects, all of which take light and spatial expansion as their point of departure. Based on lighting effects, they come to life through processes of constant change. These art projects thereby add to the building’s dynamic aspect, a dynamic that is both consistent with the architectural modernisation and with UMB’s long-term vision.

The Sørhellinga building (Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management), built in 1979, is one of the newest buildings on the campus. Even so, it is here restoration work has begun, as first step in a long-term plan to improve UMB’s entire building complex.

The Sørhellinga building was originally designed with aspects of economic compactness in mind. For the restoration work, the overriding architectural idea has therefore been to open up the body of the building to bring in light and air. Deciding to pursue this concept further, the art selection committee chose a new sky-lit passageway and two glass-roofed inner courtyards as settings for commissioned artworks. The committee went in search of artists known for challenging work based around light and space, capable of enhancing these architectural features. The result is three projects by four artists.

Carin Wessel and Erik Wessel: LED – GESSO
This work covers one wall of the sky-lit passageway, stretching down across all four floors of the building. It consists of 54 illuminated perspex objects. Mounted onto each object are details from various landscape pictures, LED fittings, and a small internal colour filter. The objects are arranged according to a grid system that covers the entire surface of the wall. With its waxed and polished silk-gloss plaster finish, this wall catches the daylight that pours in from above while at the same time creating a background for the objects’ in-built light sources. The objects are distributed in six separately programmed groups, each of which passes through a different colour cycle lasting roughly one hour.

Dyveke Sanne: WEATHER CATCHER
Sanne’s work is located in one of the light-wells. The idea behind this towering sculptural structure is that it channels the light from above down through the various floors while functioning as a light source in its own right during the winter months. The work is like a solid cone in shape; it is six metres in height and hangs just beneath the glass roof. Reaching down three floors, it has a membrane that registers and collects light. During overcast weather, it stands out brighter than its surroundings. On sunlit days the light and shadows change with the passage of the sun, while prisms cast rainbows on the structure’s surface.

Michael O’Donnell: LIGHT POOL
Sunk into the concrete floor of the second glass-roofed inner courtyard we find a circular “light basin” suggestive of circular ripples on water. This work has a 30mm thick glass surface with a translucent outer layer that diffuses the light. The surface is specially hardened to prevent it becoming smooth. The changing light is provided by 17 strips of LED lamps, each of which fluctuates with a six-minute frequency. The outer rings change colour constantly, while each of the eight inner rings have fixed colours. The light sequence starts from the outer edge and progresses inwards, before turning and wandering outwards again. The entire cycle lasts some three hours.

On its completion in 1979, the original UMB Sørhellinga building included a massive mural by Per Kleiva, commissioned by Public Art Norway. This work occupied the stairwells and the corridors. After joint consultations the artists and representatives for UMB decided that the renovation should preserve and include major parts of this work in the overall art concept. Per Kleiva’s work is now well integrated with the building’s new functions, while at the same time providing a reminder of its history. This work is currently being repainted/restored.

Gunnar H. Gundersen and Viel Bjerkeset Andersen have served as artistic consultants.