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Description

Bjørkåsen, 8540 Ballangen
The grand old administration building for Bjørkaasen Gruber was built in 1919. The two-story main building features many characteristics typical of the Neo-Baroque style period in Norwegian architecture, which lasted from about 1910 to 1930. Neo-Baroque was inspired by Nordic architecture from the 17th century. The style, and this building, are characterized by heavy, closed forms and dark wood paneling. In contrast, there are white-painted small-pane windows with curved top pieces. The building has a mansard roof, also called an Italian roof. This is a Baroque roof type, where a larger hipped roof has an inset attic floor, which is again covered with a smaller hipped roof. The mansard roof on the administration building in Bjørkåsen is covered with slate tiles.
Today, the building houses a museum that tells the story of the mining operations. Among other things, the director's office and the drafting office were in the administration building, and they have retained the original interior. Buildings, technical devices, machines, land and mine maps, etc., were designed here. Many of the drawings can be seen in the museum exhibition, and a number of the original drawings are preserved at the Archive in Nordland (Bodø).

Year of construction

1916-1919

Architect

Bjørkaasen Grubers tegnekontor

Client

Aktieselskapet Bjørkaasen Gruber (Ofoten)

Building Type

Mining Community, Office, Residential, Museum

Construction System / Materials

Stone, woodwork, slate

Map

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