The architecture of Tjuvholmen

The masterplan for Tjuvholmen was drawn up by the architect Niels Torp, who won the competition for the area together with Selvaag and Aspelin Ramm in 2002. The plan divides the district into three parts with canals: Odden, Holmen and Skjæret.

Within the plan, many different firms have each designed their own building. Among them are Niels Torp Arkitekter, Kristin Jarmund, MAD, Kari Nissen Brodtkorb, Jensen & Skodvin and Lund Hagem. Denmark's Schmidt Hammer Lassen, Finland's Gullichsen Vormala and Italy's Renzo Piano also have projects here. The landscape was designed by Bjørbekk & Lindheim and Gullik Gulliksen.

The buildings along Tjuvholmen allé are tall and close together, but arranged so that squares and green spaces open up between them. The apartments are laid out so that as many as possible have a view of the sea, and the southernmost blocks reach out towards the fjord like splayed fingers.

The variety is striking. Kanalen 1, 3 and 5, known as Ovalbygget (the Oval Building), has an oval form clad in copper. It was Oslo's first residential building to stand partly on columns in the water.

The Thief has a larvikite façade with gold-coloured fins. Kavringen brygge 3 has angled slabs of light brick, and Salmakersvenn is in dark brick with orange panels. Salmakersvenn steps down towards the south so that every apartment gets a sea view.

Lille Stranden 2 on Odden has a light blue-grey cube that cantilevers out over Olav Selvaags plass, carried by a single purple column. On its neighbour Lille Stranden 3, by the same architects, the colours of the render were chosen by the artist Bente Tønnessen.

At the far end stands Astrup Fearnley Museet, with sail-shaped glass roofs over walls of grey aspen panelling.

Choose colour-coding by year built to see how the district grew: green is newest, red is oldest. The first buildings on Odden were completed in 2007, the last on Holmen in 2014.

The white model shows the forms without colours or materials, like an architectural model. Click a building to see the year it was built, the architect and the developer.

• Tjuvholmen received the Global Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute in 2014.
• Parking is in a facility under the sea with around 800 spaces, so the streets are largely car-free.