The national memorial site for 22 July will open on 18 June 2022. It will be established at Utøyakaia, on the mainland by the ferry berth within Utøya in Hole municipality. The memorial site will be a beautiful and dignified place. It should be a place of reflection for the bereaved, survivors, volunteers, aid workers and for current and future generations.

The memorial site and the surrounding area will be designed in accordance with given guidelines, which have been prepared after a dialogue with local people and neighbours. Good involvement of the national support group after the events of 22 July, AUF, Hole municipality and the local community is an important premise for the work.

The area’s function as the access route to Utøya, an active quay and recreation area shall be maintained. In order to manage this in a good way, the current access road will be rerouted. This will provide a better and safer solution, as well as a better and more flexible parking area.

Design

The memorial site is located next to the beach north of the quay. It consists of a staircase that curves so that it forms two demarcated spaces towards the water’s edge.

There are 77 slender bronze columns on the lower step of the stairs. The first arch faces the sun as it was positioned in the sky at the time when the bomb exploded in the government quarter in Oslo. The second arch faces the sun as it was positioned in the sky during the period of the attack on Utøya.

Voluntary efforts on land and in leisure boats played an important role on 22 July. At the southern end towards the quay, where the ferry MS Thorbjørn docks, the curved stairs continue into the water and form a guest jetty.

MS Torbjørn will moor at the guest pier so that every new ferry trip with young people to and from Utøya will be linked to the memorial site. Thus, this will not only be a place to remember those we lost, but also to honour rescue and continued life. When the water level rises, the memorial site will gradually flood, which emphasizes the contact with the water.

Key facts

Client: Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development

Principal: Statsbygg (The Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction and Property)

Architects, sketch project:

Architect Beate Hølmebakk, Manthey Kula AS
Architect Per Tamsen, Manthey Kula AS
Landscape Architect Bass Smets
Architect and researcher Mattias Ekman

Design Group, detailed planning:

Architecture and landscape design – Manthey Kula AS
Consulting engineer – construction engineering – Dr. techn. Kristoffer Apeland AS
Consulting engineer – geotechnical and rock engineering – Multiconsult AS
Consulting engineer for power, HVAC, roads, water and environment – Asplan Viak AS
Consulting landscape architect – Holo & Holo AS

Construction phase:

Construction management: T-2 Project AS
General Contractor (K701): Skanska Norge AS

Construction start/Completion: 2020/2022