National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design

There are many cultural treasures on display, all of them protected by Goppion. Dedicated rooms host an internationally significant collection of works by Edvard Munch, including The Scream. For this seminal work, Goppion has created a display case with special glass, crafted to bring together maximum security and maximum transparency. The eclectic nature of the wider collection ranges from a beautiful selection of 19th-century landscape paintings, medieval tapestries, royal gowns worn by Norway’s two queens, to a display of works by celebrated Norwegian architect Sverre Fehn.

Goppion began working with the Nasjonalmuseet in 2018, and has custom-made 280 display cases of 80 types and sizes, plus a wide range of plinths, text panels, multimedia furniture, benches and partitions. Many of the display cases required specifically tailored technical and functional solutions, developed in collaboration with the Museum and the Exhibition Design.

The exhibition design and architecture was awarded to Guicciardini and Magni Architects. The team led by Marco Magni created a concept that establishes visual and content-related links between the exhibition areas on the different floors and the overall design concept was developed to blend with the architecture and materials of the museum building.

Goppion’s ability to provide high-quality solutions that are both functional and aesthetic was core to the project’s needs. In particular, our expertise in the production and development of complex display cases – including different shapes such as hexagonal, oval and trapezoidal and large-dimension cases – was required.

Collectively these display cases contribute to a key element of the individual look and feel created in various spaces throughout the Museum; as visitors walk from one room to the next they will be surprised to see that display cases are very different, in shape, size and color.

With so many rare and fragile items on display, conservation grade constructions include sophisticated security systems, airtightness and RH stabilization, while many display cases also required integration of lighting and other accessories. Each of the Museum’s new display cases was built with a passive relative humidity control and VOC’s filtration systems on board to balance conditions of the galleries and protect the cultural heritage held within the display cases.

Easy access for curators and exhibition staff was also an important consideration, provided by a range of hinged doors, mechanisms including pull & slide, tilt & slide, box rotation lift up systems and top hinges that are variously manually, gas spring and/or motor assisted.

Curvilinear benches in solid wood have been created for all the galleries and also educational furniture and immersive installations. Spectacular constructions such as the wooden hemisphere of the Mini Cinema and Fairy Tales will surprise visitors with their shapes, colors and materials.

With this stunning expansion and reinvention, Nasjonalmuseet now takes its place as not only the largest art museum in the Nordic region, but a fitting home for many of Norway’s national treasures.