The project for the new Botanical Greenhouse dates back to the 1930’s, when the demand for a larger museum was at its top. The two existing gardens – Palmehuset (1868) and Victoriahuset (1876) were constructed correlated to the establishment of the University in Oslo ( Det Kongelige Fredriks Universitet) in 1811. The gardens are conserved according to the Cultural Heritage Act but were renovated in 1996 in collaboration with The Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Now, nearly 90 years later, Statsbygg on assignment from The Ministry of Education (Kunnskapsdepartementet) will be the contractor for the new Botanical Garden situated at Tøyen, Oslo. The garden will be administered by UiO (University io Oslo). It will become a part of the Museum of Natural History.
The new Botanical Garden will be the showroom of the Museum of Natural History. The goal for the garden is to stimulate the interest for and the knowledge about the evolution of biological diversity and to generate an internationally leading research and dissemination environment. The aim for this is to establish a greater understanding of the fundamental meaning the plants have to the life on earth and contribute to the sustainable management of the world’s natural resources.
November 1998 Stein Halvorsen Arkitekter won the international architectonic competition with the proposal OASE 60ºN . In Spring 2009 The architects were engaged by Statsbygg for further development. The project has been through many processes to get where it is today, but the collaborator partners have always been the same.
The façade is chosen based on strict climate requirements. This is to maintain the required growing conditions for the plants. Because of the importance of the materials, there was at an early stage a decision to collaborate with two suppliers that specialize in this field. April 2017 SGS/Novum became the supplier for materials for the walls, roofing, etc. August same year Gether AS was chosen as the supplier for air conditioning.
