Sverre Fehn's architecture of memory

Today we’re in Hamar, Norway, to explore one of the most powerful architectural interventions of the last century: Sverre Fehn’s museum within the ruins of Storhamar Barn. To guide us through it, I’m joined by architect and writer Per Olaf Fjeld, who worked closely with Fehn and has written extensively on his legacy.

Storhamar is not a restoration. It’s an architectural conversation across centuries. Rather than rebuilding the medieval barn, Fehn inserted a timber and concrete structure inside its shell - careful not to touch the original stone walls. What emerges is an experience of walking through time: past and present suspended in a single space.

Fehn believed that architecture should never erase history. Instead, he asked how we might build beside it - allowing old and new to remain in honest dialogue.

In this episode, we discuss:

● Why Fehn’s approach at Storhamar was more subtraction than addition

● The role of contrast — concrete against stone, timber against light — in making materials legible

● How Fehn’s philosophy of presence shaped the spatial choreography of the barn

● The ethics of architectural restraint and how it plays out in this museum

Key Themes and Discussion Highlights

● Building in relation to memory and time

● The architectural power of silence and stillness

● Material clarity as a moral stance