Oslo Opera House

The Oslo Opera House stands at the head of the Oslofjord in Norway, completed in 2007 and opened to the public in 2008 to a design by the Norwegian firm Snohetta, serving as the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Its most distinctive feature is a sloped roof of white Carrara marble and granite that rises directly from the water's edge, designed so the public can walk up its angled surfaces to the summit, a deliberate merging of building and public plaza intended to evoke a glacier or iceberg emerging from the fjord. Inside, the main auditorium is clad largely in oak, a warmer material contrast to the building's cool exterior stone, and a large glass curtain wall along the foyer offers views out over the harbor. The building won the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, the Mies van der Rohe Award, in 2009, and its walkable roof has become one of Oslo's most visited public spaces regardless of whether visitors attend a performance.