Construction begins for long-awaited marine life exhibition centre

Following years of planning, a whale-watching viewpoint and exhibition centre designed by Dorte Mandrup has broken ground, with construction now underway. The waters surrounding the island of Andøya in Norway serve as crucial feeding grounds along the whales’ annual migration routes, making it one of the best places to witness these magnificent creatures up close. Once complete, the long-awaited attraction will exhibit, communicate, and celebrate the life of whales and their relationship with humans.

Dorte Mandrup won the competition to design The Whale in 2019. Positioned at the ocean’s edge, the surrounding landscape has influenced the architecture. The building rises like a soft hill, forming a sheltered cavity beneath, almost as if someone had made an incision into the crust of the earth and lifted it up. The surface of the roof is covered with natural, unworked stones from the area, with large windows opening up towards the archipelago. Visitors are invited to walk across the single concrete shell that makes up the roof, which features an aerodynamic shape that mitigates against negative turbulence effects and snow build-up. Its parabolic form transmits the structure’s forces to three support points in the corners, making it possible to create a large, inner column-free room underneath.  

Inside, a large space opens naturally towards the mountains and the sea. A long horizontal view of the mountains and archipelago creates a direct visual connection between the surroundings and the exhibition, which is underlined by the rocks entering the building in multiple places. 

Kasper Pilemand, partner & head of projects at Dorte Mandrup, stated: “It is incredibly rewarding to have reached this point. The journey has been long, and the commitment from the local community and the team behind The Whale has been awe-inspiring and essential in reaching this milestone. Together with the rest of the team, we look forward to bringing this extraordinary project to life and, through it, contributing to a deeper understanding of whales and the urgent need to preserve marine life.”

The Whale is scheduled to open by summer 2027.

Lucy Nordberg

Tenderstream Head of Research

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