The building is situated in the centre of Tromsø, at Prostneset, where both the express boats and the hurtigruta (coastal express ship) dock

the bus terminal is also situated here. The area consists mostly of office buildings. The triangular Roald Amundsuns plass with its park is just nearby and Havnebygget is sited at the north-east corner of the park, where Kirkegata meets Kaigata.

Havnebygget was built in 1971 as an administration building for Tromsø Port Authorities. The office block is a modern interpretation of the wharf buildings on the quayside, with its long, narrow shape and associations with steamboats, oceans and the sea. It was one of the first in the country to be clad with plates of corten steel (which is also the dominant façade material for the Grieghallen in Bergen). At ground level a profile-free glass façade runs round the building like an airy division between the exterior and interior. The top floor is drawn back, creating, together with an asymmetrically positioned roof elevation, a ship-like profile. Inside, the ship association continues with a load-bearing, rounded core and curtain-wall façade.

1971

Harry Gangvik A/S

Jan Østgaard arkitekt MNAL

Borealis Arkitekter AS

Tromsø port authorities

Offices

Concrete

corten steel plating

glass