Along with several other spectacular buildings, Snøhetta’s Oslo Opera House is on the shortlist for the Brit Insurance Design Awards for architecture. The awards conicide with an exhibition at the Design Museum, which presents the finalists in numerous categories, including two other Norwegian contenders.
In addition to the Opera House, Norwegian car manufacturer Think, which is currently devloping its car interior design with the Royal Academy of Arts, has also been nominated. So has the firm Kode Design for their mine clearing gear, which is now being produced by Rofi Industrier.
The world’s most interesting and forward looking designs have been nominated by industry experts spanning seven categories: Architecture, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Interactive, Product and Transport, to be judged by a panel, chaired by Alan Yentob and including the designer and environmentalist Karen Blincoe, and the architect Peter Cook.
The shortlist will be on show at the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year Exhibition from 12 February until 14 June at the Design Museum in London. From this comprehensive list, the panel will decide the category winners in each of the seven disciplines to be announced at the end of February. These finalists will go forward to compete for the 2009 Brit Insurance Design of the Year, to be revealed at the Awards Dinner on 18 March 2009.
Brit Insurance Designs of the Year Exhibition
12 February- 14 June 2009
Design Museum
Shad Thames
London SE1 2YD
The Oslo Opera House was opened in April 2008, and has since become a new landmark for Oslo. Photo: Jaro Hollan / Statsbygg