Architectural firm Snøhetta have expanded the Lillehammer Art Museum and Cinema in Norway, creating a cantilevering stainless steel cube to adjoin its own 1994 extension, creating new spaces within the cultural building.

The expansion’s main visual feature is the striking rooftop box designed by the late Bård Breivik, which is enveloped in a skin of crinkled and polished stainless steel.

Created around the idea of “art hovering above a transparent base”, the new space houses a children’s workshop at ground level with floor-to-ceiling windows and sits beneath the gleaming metal façade. On the second storey, the works of local artist Jakob Weidemann have been displayed within the cube, which according to Snøhetta is “conceptually rooted in the sculptural idea of a shooting star,” a dramatic symbol of the importance of Weidemann’s contribution to Norwegian painting.

Snøhetta, who 22 years ago completed the first expansion of the building, have provided further gallery space with the new extension, as well as renovating the existing cinema and installing two new theatres. The work also connects the two existing institutions, with the addition of the new exhibition hall Weidemannsalen to the museum.

“The integration of art, architecture, and landscape is an important feature in both Snøhetta and Erling Viksjø’s work,” said a statement from the architects. “When Snøhetta designed the museum expansion in 1994, the spaces in between the buildings were transformed into an art garden in the firm’s first collaboration with artist Bård Breivik. For the recent expansion, it has been important to again enhance these connecting spaces, bringing the three volumes together in one complete project.”