Project: Sørum farm, architect: Are Vesterlid

Architect Are Vesterlid’s worked at Sørum farm over two decades. This ancient farm that dates back to the Viking era has changed continuously across the centuries, adapting to the varying needs and means of its owners. Vesterlid saw himself as yet another builder, in a long chain of builders, when working in close collaboration with its current owner, the sculptor Knut Wold.

This volume presents a complete set of Vesterlid’s working drawings and a large number of his imaginative drawings. .Are Vesterlid’s inspired architectural collage reminds us that many of the most eloquent pieces of contemporary architecture are in fact conversions,» Juhani Pallasmaa observes: .All meaningful works of art and architecture possess an amazing capacity to evoke other eras and other works.» The recent architectural interventions at Sørum farm eloquently show that .True artistic works are not self-centered monologues, as they willingly enter into a conversation with other works, both old and new. As a consequence of this dialogue across time, the great works of the past enable us to see the art of our own time with re-sensitized eyes, whereas the master works of our age make us see and understand historical works of architecture and art in a new light. This dialogue across the abyss of time reveals the true quality of art; artistic culture is not a ‘thing’, as it is a dynamic dialectical process and a tradition.» Additionally, Ragnar Pedersen presents the history of the farm, its many buildings, and their continuous changes through more than a millennium.

Essay by Juhani Pallasmaa and Ragnar Pedersen