The Paul S. Byard Memorial Lecture: Svein Lund, Jonas Norsted, Jorge Otero-Pailos and Erik Langdalen

A panel presentation on the restoration of the former US Embassy in Oslo originally designed by Eero Saarinen in 1959. Speakers: Svein Lund (Lundhagem Arkitekter) and Jonas Norsted (Atelier Oslo) with Erik Langdalen and Jorge Otero-Pailos. Response by Laurie Hawkinson.

SPEAKER BIOS

Svein Lund is founding partner and chairman of Lund Hagem Architects established in 1990 together with Einar Hagem. Over three decades his work has been driven by a consistent approach inspired by the Norwegian design tradition of simplicity, minimalism and functionality. All his projects are informed by a sensitive approach to the surrounding landscape and a dynamic dialogue between nature and the built environment. Lund’s wide ranging portfolio includes holiday homes, private villas and large scale residential and housing projects, office and commercial developments, notable cultural and educational projects, hotels and leisure complexes and urban master plans. Svein Lund is an active participant in the Norwegian architectural arena and in the public discourse. He often gives lectures, both at home and abroad and has received a number of awards for his architectural work.

Jonas Norsted is a founding partner of the Norwegian architecture firm Atelier Oslo which was established in 2006. The studio has been successful in various architectural competitions and is known for its environmentally friendly and innovative designs, ranging from public buildings to single-family houses and cabins. Norsted, along with his partners, has a varied and international background, and the studio’s working method is rooted in curiosity and interdisciplinary collaboration, leading to sustainable solutions. In addition to his architectural work, Norsted also teaches at the Oslo School of Architecture and has been recognized for his contributions to the field of architecture. Atelier Oslo has been involved in a range of projects, including the restoration and extension of the former US Embassy in Oslo, in collaboration with LundHagem. The studio’s work reflects a commitment to combining the latest advances in technology and sustainability with local materials and handcraft traditions.

Jorge Otero-Pailos is an American-Spanish artist, preservation architect, scholar, and educator renowned for pioneering experimental preservation practices. He is the founder of Otero-Pailos Studio and Director and Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP), where he also directs the Columbia Preservation Technology Lab, and where he founded the first PhD program in Historic Preservation in the US.

His artworks and public art installations have been commissioned by and exhibited at major heritage sites, museums, foundations, and biennials, including the Chicago Architecture Biennale (2017), Artangel’s public art commission at the UK Parliament (2016), the V&A Museum (2015), and the Venice Biennale (2009). He is the recipient of a 2021-22 American Academy in Rome Residency in the visual arts.

As a preservation architect, Otero-Pailos collaborates on the creative restoration and interpretation of landmark sites. Notably, Otero-Pailos achieved an award-winning restoration of New Holland Island in St. Petersburg, Russia, in partnership with WorkAC (2013) and the Saarinen-designed former U.S. embassy in Oslo, Norway, with Langdalen Arkitektkontor, Atelier Oslo and Lund Hagem Architects (2023).

Otero-Pailos studied architecture at Cornell University and earned a doctorate in architecture at M.I.T.

Erik Langdalen is a practicing architect and a Professor of Architecture at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO). Erik Langdalen Arkitektkontor is an award-winning office specialized on the preservation and transformation of historic buildings, including the newly reopened Eero Saarinen designed US Embassy in Oslo, the soon to be opened Magnus Poulsson designed Dombås Church, and the Posten Moderne Museum of Contemporary Art in Trondheim (2025), as well as a number of heritage sites across Norway. His teaching and research focus on the recent past, specializing on concrete architecture, buildings systems and components. He is currently co-heading the research project Provenance Projected, Architecture Past and Future in the Era of Circularity (2023-27). His written works include the books Experimental Preservation (2016), Concrete Oslo (2018) and Sverre Fehn, Nordic Pavilion, Venice. Voices from the Archive (2021). He is the owner of the cultural center Budsjord Historic Farm at Dovre. Erik Langdalen holds a Diploma of Architecture from AHO and a M.ARCH AAD from Columbia University GSAPP.

Laurie Hawkinson is a Professor of Architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University, where she teaches Advanced Studio. She is co-author of Designing New York: Prefabrication in the Public Realm, a publication produced by Columbia GSAPP and the NYC Public Design Commission. Publications on her work include Between Spaces: Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architecture (Princeton Architectural Press, 2000) and Smith-Miller + Hawkinson (Editorial Gustavo Gili S.A.). She is Architect and co-founder of Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects (SM+H), a New York City-based design studio in architecture, urban design, installations, and exhibitions. Across the United States and abroad, SM+H has designed public and private projects including museums, parks, transportation terminals, performing arts spaces, private residences, university and government facilities, a series of museum exhibitions and installations, as well as furniture and objects.

This event content is equivalent to 1.5 AIA/CES total learning credit. Please contact events@arch.columbia.edu for more information.

Learn more about this preservation effort in Architectural Record, featuring faculty Jorge Otero-Pailos on his role in the preservation process.