Accessible only by ferry, the “Salmon Eye,” by Copenhagen-based firm Kvorning Design, was commissioned by a Norwegian salmon farming operation, Eide Fjordbruk, as a multipurpose public gathering space and aquaculture exhibition center. According to firm principal Arne Kvorning, the pavilion, which floats on the Hardangerfjord, the second-largest fjord in Norway, is technically registered as a boat. “It’s anchored at the bottom with three big wires,” he told record. “It’s moving and reacting to the waves, which is part of the experience.” The ellipsoid structure is enveloped in 9,500 overlapping stainless-steel plates, creating a facade designed to mimic the appearance of a salmon’s skin.

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The Salmon Eye's interior acousting paneling was custom-made by Kvadrat Acoustics. Photos by Roel van Tour.

Stepping off the ferry, visitors move onto a floating bridge extending from the Salmon Eye’s entrance. The interior houses over 2,000 square feet of exhibition space, designed to raise awareness of sustainable salmon-farming methods in the area. Three levels, the lowest of which is underwater, are connected by a central spiral staircase that leads to a rooftop terrace. Custom-shaped textile panels, developed by Kvadrat Acous­tics, wrap seamlessly around the ceilings and walls of the curved interior and are gradated, from dark to light hues, from the building’s bottom level to its top.