The striking, monochromatic US Embassy in Oslo, which opened in 1959, was one of only three buildings in Europe by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen. As a result of increasing security concerns from the end of the 1990s onwards, fences, bollards and armed guards were gradually installed around the building, rendering it fortress-like and impenetrable. This was the polar opposite of the original intention, explains Jonas Norsted of architecture practice Atelier Oslo, who worked alongside another Oslo-based firm, LundHagem, on the building’s restoration and extension.
