Oslo’s Gardermoen Airport

NORWAY, ACCORDING to the United Nations, is the world’s happiest country. Oslo is Europe’s fastest-growing capital, and Gardermoen, the international airport that can be reached from the city center in less than 20 minutes by train, is Europe’s most punctual. All of which might explain why the Norwegian government has invested $2.2 billion over the past six years reconstructing Gardermoen, expanding its capacity from 19 million to 32 million passengers a year.

Since the airport first opened in 1998, a nominally content, prosperous, punctual and fecund Oslo has been busy reinventing itself. Anyone arriving at the city’s Central Station from Gardermoen today will encounter the Barcode Project, a controversial provocation of tall, cartoon-like, mixed-use buildings designed by architects Dark, A-lab and MVRDV and completed in 2014. Next door, the compelling white granite and marble Opera House, designed by Snøhetta, appears to emerge from the Bjørvika docks. In summer, Osloites sunbathe on its sloping roof.

The rebuilt Gardermoen—with its timber construction, abundant daylight, gently curved surfaces, wood floors and high ceilings—is a model of gently festive Scandinavian design. The team that created the building was led by Nordic—office of Architecture, a practice based in Oslo. This is the world’s first airport to achieve an “Excellent” sustainability rating from the internationally recognized Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, or BREEAM. While airports, with their legions of jet airliners, can never be truly sustainable, the new Gardermoen has tried harder than most. Treated sewage and snow swept from runways will heat and cool the building, while timber cladding will absorb heat and glare. It makes a felicitous gateway to a fast-evolving city.

This summer, the airport will also be the conduit between two Norwegian festivals. Oslo will host the 25th annual Norwegian Wood music festival (June 15-17) at the open-air Frognerbadet swimming pool, where an all-norwegian lineup, including Anna of the North, Lillebjørn Nilsen and Oslo Ess, will follow in the footsteps of Bob Dylan, David Bowie and Tori Amos, all of whom performed here.

Later in the month, a 90-minute flight from Gardermoen to the northern town of Harstad opens the doors to the Arctic Arts Festival (June 24-July 1), which will feature such artists as Simone Grøtte (dance), Shwan Dler Qaradaki (painting-video) and Sami musicians experimenting with trance and electronica. —