The Berlage

Session Room K
—12:45

On the Banknote

Martin Gran, Snøhetta

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The Norwegian Bank Note design created in Snøhetta serves not only as a medium for exchanging value but also as a social tool. The design reflects the values, culture, and identity of Norway, serving as a symbol of the country's heritage and traditions. By featuring elements of Norwegian nature and culture such as the oceanand welfare system, the banknotes promote a sense of national identity. Addressing Snøhetta’s approach to design at all scales, Martin's talk will touch on the transdisciplinary intersection of architecture, landscape, interiors, product and graphic design.

Martin Gran is a partner at Snøhetta, an architecture and design firm with its headquarters in Oslo, Norway. With degrees in management, psychology, and sociology, and twenty-three years’ experience within communication, architecture, and design environments and projects, Martin is a versatile and professional leader. His deep interest in the human mind, combined with commercial understanding and ability, makes him a strategic asset to organizations and design projects. Martin also regularly lectures and gives talks all over the world.

Snøhetta is a place nobody is from, but anyone can go to. Snøhetta (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈsnøːˌhɛtɑ]) began as a collaborative architectural and landscape workshop, and has remained true to its trans-disciplinary way of thinking since its inception. The work strives to enhance a sense of surroundings, identity and relationship to others and the physical spaces we inhabit, whether feral or human-made. Museums, products, reindeer observatories, graphics, landscapes and dollhouses get the same care and attention to purpose.  

This spring’s series, entitled “Money Talks,” looks at the architecture associated with the storing, trading, management, digitization, and centralization of money. Topics will include the history of the Bank of England, the competition for a new commodity exchange in Amsterdam, the design of banknotes, the commissioning of the headquarters of one of the largest banking and financial services institutions in the world, the post-war development of London’s financial center, among others. Speakers will include Daniel M. Abramson, Herman van Bergeijk, Martin Gran, Carol Patterson, Lauren S. Weingarden, Amy Thomas, and Stephanie Williams.

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