KNUT HAMSUN CENTER HAMARØY, NORWAY

摘要

STEVEN HOLL MADE his first sketches for the Knut Hamsun Center, in the municipality of Hamar0y, Norway, in 1994. But it was not until 2008,14 years later, that construction started. During this long gestation period the building entered the collective consciousness to the point that it was as if it really existed - it is said that tourists ventured to the site to find no building at all. Seventeen years on, the center is complete, installed, and is being used for its intended purposes. But it's what has happened in the intervening years, since Holl's first visit, that has shaped the building into the important cultural center it is today. The physical journey to Hamarey, 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle, is also arduous. The passage, involving hours of air, sea, and road travel through breathtaking scenery, is a singular one. And the arrival to this awe-inspiring place,'with its wooded hills leading down to the water's edge and its sharp mountainous backdrop, is deeply rewarding. An obvious response to the natural beauty would be to make a humble gesture with a quiet building.