Norwegian Heritage Center embraces both modern, traditional look

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For the architect Kirk Lundgren, designing Livsreise: Norwegian Heritage Center in downtown Stoughton was a journey.

The Bryant Foundation hired The Kubala Washatko Architects to design Livsreise – which is pronounced lifs-rye-sa and is Norwegian for “life’s journey.” The center represents not only the physical journey that Norwegian emigrants took, but also the journey current generations now take by embracing their Norwegian heritage.

“The client had a pretty clear vision of what they wanted to achieve and it was my job to bring that vision to life,” Lundgren said.

Livsreise brings together the modern and traditional schools of Scandinavian architecture.

“It definitely straddles both,” Lundrgren said. “Its building design was inspired by the geometry and bold colors of traditional Norwegian vernacular architecture while the rhythm, scale and proportion of the building elements fit well the adjacent historic buildings.”

The use of wood is important in Scandinavian architecture and Livsreise carries that on, Lundgren said. The Douglas Fir tongue-and-groove ceiling trim is accented by maple interior wood siding, he said. Local Norwegian Rosemaling artists then painted wood tiles in the interior.

“The timber trusses and wood columns that tie into timber beams are a nod to the stave-church look that was once very common in Scandinavian architecture,” Lundgren said.

The building’s location — on a downtown corner in Stoughton — gave rise to some difficulties, Lundgren said.

“It was an L-shaped lot that bordered downtown in the front and there was also a house adjacent to the site,” he said. “The way we positioned the building on the lot went a long way. In the front, the building was brought forward to the street edge in the front and then steps back from the street once you get around the corner.”

Livsreise features a main exhibit hall highlighting the journey from Norway with visual and audio displays and artifacts. There’s also a temporary exhibit space for changing exhibitions, a 68-seat auditorium and a genealogy research center.

June Bunting, executive director of the Brandt Foundation, called Livsreise “a finely crafted jewel.”

“It’s been a great success story so far,” she said. “It’s doing just what we wanted it to do — bringing people to downtown Stoughton and making it a destination.”

Communication was essential in making the building a success.

“We met weekly with the contractors and client to make sure we were all on the same page,” Lundgren said. “It was a unique project, which is why it was so much fun.”

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