31/08/2026
Ella Harrington Knapton
Danish architecture firm Dorte Mandrup has designed The Whale, a knowledge and experience center opening June 2027 in Andenes, on Norway's Andøya island — one of Europe's premier whale-watching destinations. The building's form is a single curved concrete shell that touches the ground at just three points, creating a parabolic structure requiring no interior columns. From outside, it resembles a whale's tail rising from the water as the creature dives beneath. The roof is topped with unworked natural stones collected from the surrounding area and doubles as a walkable viewpoint for visitors to survey the archipelago and northern lights. A continuous curved glass facade faces the ocean, while the interior floor rises and falls to mirror the outdoor landscape — with rocks entering the building at multiple points. "What if this is about the horizon, and not about the connection between earth and sky?" said chief architect Dorte Mandrup-Poulsen. The museum will feature exhibits spanning science, art, storytelling, and sound, exploring humanity's relationship with whales. The surrounding landscape design includes a tidepool, campfire, stepping stones, and a new walkway across the breakwater connecting the building to the coastline.
📷 Dorte Mandrup
