Merkurgården

Description

Storgata 1, Bodø

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Merkurgården is situated along the streets Storgata and Professor Schyttes gate, centrally in the Bodø town centre. The building was erected as a traditional business premises with shops on the first storey, offices on the second and flats on the third storey. Merkurgården replaced previous buildings that had been destroyed by fire during the bombing of Bodø in 1940. The architects Gudolf Blakstad (1893-1985) and Herman Munthe-Kaas (1890-1977) drafted sketches for the development of Bodø for the organisation Redevelopment of Areas Destroyed by Fire (BSR), which sought to restore towns after World War II. They also designed several important reconstructed complexes in Bodø, such as the cathedral and the town hall during the 1950s. Merkurgården stood completed, based on their design plans, already by 1948.

The building is L-shaped, three-storied with a loft and terminated with a saddle roof. The façades of the building are smoothly plastered. One may notice the varied format of the windows on each storey

this reflects the varied use of the building. For instance, there are shops on the first storey - here one finds large window panes, columns and framings clad with stone. On the second storey there were offices - with uniformly positioned windows of the same size. The third storey was reserved for flats - with various sized windows. The dormers on the loft storey were annexed in the 1990s.