OUTDOOR MATTERS, an exhibition about the landscape in Oslo

It is one hundred years since the landscape architect programme began at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) making Norway the first country in Europe to educate landscape architects and this centennial will be celebrated with the OUTDOOR MATTERS exhibition at the National Museum – Architecture, Oslo.


How often have we ever thought about how outdoor spaces such as gardens, parks, urban spaces, and cemeteries have all been designed and planned by someone? A job that in many countries is not the responsibility of an all-round architect but requires the specific expertise of a landscape architect. This branch of architecture was first recognised in Norway, where the landscape architect programme was launched at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in 1919.
A centennial that will be celebrated from 8 February to 1 September 2019 with the OUTDOOR MATTERS exhibition at the National Museum – Architecture. The exhibition has been set up around five main themes: gardens, allotments, public parks, institutional parks, and graveyards. Major works that will be presented include the Campus Park in Ås, the Hydro Park in Oslo, the Theatre Park in Bergen, and Tjøtta International War Cemetery in Nordland. All complemented by original drawings by landscape architects, namely the pioneers of Norwegian landscape architecture from 1900 to the 1960s, such as Olav L. Moen, Pål Sæland, Karen Reistad, Torborg Z. Frølich, Marius I. Røhne, Eyvind Strøm and Morten Grindaker & Egil Gabrielsen.
And, of course, an exhibition that addresses the theme OUTDOOR MATTERS could only be worthy of such a title if it is structured both inside and outside the museum, transcending the physical boundaries of the museum and extending outside the building. So there is the Pavilion that invites visitors to set off on a journey through the “landscape maze” and get to know the various pioneering projects and the era in which they were designed and built. 
The installation in the entrance hall is inspired by the Japanese concept of komorebi, which refers to the lighting and shadow effects that are created when sunlight filters through trees and vegetation. 
The exhibition even includes a sensory room, called “The Vault”, that evokes the ever-shifting lighting and sounds of landscapes. A “stick forest” will be created outside the pavilion and will undergo a slow transformation as it grows and flowers during the exhibition.
OUTDOOR MATTERS reminds us that building with plantings takes time and that the green revolution has been taking place with the time it needs for one hundred years. The exhibition showcases the thoughts and the challenges of the first people to practise the profession and speaks out loud and clear in favour of building communities based on green principles, where the landscape is not an accessory but part of our lived-in world.
OUTDOOR MATTERS, curated by Jenny B. Osuldsen (NMBU) was created by the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in collaboration with the National Museum, Nasjonalmuseet.

Christiane Bürklein
Exhibition: OUTDOOR MATTERS
curated by Jenny B. Osuldsen (NMBU)
created by the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in collaboration with the National Museum, Nasjonalmuseet.
from 8 February to 1 September 2019
National Museum - Architecture
Oslo, Norway
Find out more: http://nasjonalmuseet.no/en/exhibitions_and_events/exhibitions/national_museum__architecture/OUTDOOR+MATTERS.b7C_wRnO5O.ips
Images: see captions