Sverre Fehn - spaces for art

Narrator:  

There is just one thing I’m wondering about: have you ever made a drawing of a building? A drawing on paper?  

Voice: 

Of course I’ve done that. Hasn’t everyone?  

Narrator:  

Splendid! Then it will be easier for you to follow what I’m talking about. 

Voice: 

I’m with you. Just get on with it. 

Narrator:  

Okay. So more than sixty years ago, a Norwegian called Sverre Fehn was given a very important task. 

Voice: 

Uh-huh. So what sort of thing did this Sverre Fehn have to do?

Narrator:  

He had to design a building for a museum in Italy. There was just one problem. There were trees growing in exactly the same place where the building was going to stand, and he was absolutely forbidden from cutting any of them down.  

Voice: 

Whoa, hang on a second! So he had to design a building for a site where there were already lots of trees? Without getting rid of them? 

Narrator:  

Exactly.  

Voice: 

So what did he DO?  

Narrator:  

Well, he designed a beautiful building with holes in the roof, so that the trees could carry on growing. Pretty cool, don’t you think?  

Voice: 

Yes, that’s really cool! 

Narrator:  

It’s the building you can see on the wall. You can kind of peer into it. Can you see the huge tree trunks?  

Voice: 
Yes! I can see them! 

Narrator:  

Sverre Fehn designed lots of buildings and museums, and for some of his designs he won important prizes. He was what we call an architect. Perhaps you’ve heard that word before? An architect is a person who designs new houses and buildings, and also makes plans for all the things that you need to have inside a building.  

Most buildings in Norway are designed by architects. Maybe one day you’ll want to build your own home. And if you decide to do that, it may be a good idea to talk to an architect. 

Voice:  

Why? 

Narrator:  

Well, so that you remember that the kitchen needs water and a sink, and that if you have a fireplace, you’ll also need a chimney. And you’ll need to figure out where to put the windows, and where to put up walls around the toilet, and perhaps you’ll want to have holes in the roof, if you want big trees in the living room, for example. 

Voice: 

Okay, I get it. 

Narrator:  

Do you know what would be fun? 

Voice: 

What? 

Narrator:  

The next time you draw a building on a piece of paper or build something in Minecraft, then you can think of yourself as a kind of architect – someone who can make buildings with trees growing in them, just like Sverre Fehn.