RMIG cladding finishes Oslo Opera House

Oslo's Opera House has been finished with more than 9km² of aluminium cladding, incorporating a complex pattern of concave and convex forms, developed by the RMIG Group to produce the designs created by two Norwegian artists, Astrid Lsvaas and Kirsten Wagle, which represents a pattern used in traditional Norwegian weavino techniques.

Designed by architects Snøhetta, the striking 38,500m² building won the 'culture' category of the inaugural World Architecture Festival in 2008, yet the key issue to overcome was ensuring that the patterns on the eight individual panel designs could be produced accurately, quickly and with total repeatability. To achieve this, RMIG designed a special punching tool that enabled both concave and convex forms to be produced simultaneously on its unique 200 tonne P40 press in a single pass onto a continuous roll of 3mm thick aluminium before being cut to size and white anodised.

RMIG also helped develop the fixing method on site, involving the installation of a strong but low-profile framework onto which each individual panel was located. Henrik Salée, group operations director with RMIG Denmark, explained: "The end result is outstanding and the tailor-made aluminium panels make an excellent contribution to the unique qualities of the external structure alongside the marble and extensive glazed areas."