Historical Archive of Norwegian Landscape Architecture
The Archive
In 2014, the School of Landscape Architecture (ILA) established the Archive of Norwegian Landscape Architecture (ANLA), reflecting the institution's status as home to the world’s second oldest landscape architecture program.
The Archive documents the evolution of Norwegian landscape architecture over the past century, encompassing student work, as well as maps, plans, photographs, and written records from prominent educators and practitioners in the field.
About us
The Archive is managed and maintained by the research group ‘Theories and history in landscape architecture’ in the School of Landscape Architecture (ILA)
Founded in 2010, the main purpose of establishing the research group is to inspire and strengthen research in the history of landscape architecture and in green heritage management.
The group contributes to the research environment in ILA, as well as the synergy between research, practice and education.
The research group provides platform for both externally funded research projects and research collaboration and consultancy within and outside NMBU.
This site provides an introduction to the contents of the Archive. It is hoped to generate more interests in the research of Norwegian landscape architecture, both nationally and internationally. Interested readers can contact Professor Annegreth Dietze-Schirdewahn.
Content of main collections
Currently, the Archive contains eight main collections in addition to some small collections. Here is a brief overview of the main collections:
Olav Moen (1887-1951)
Olav Leif Moen was the first lecturer and Professor in garden art at Norwegian Agricultural College at Ås (now NMBU). Moen graduated from Ås in 1918. Through his practice and teaching, he became a pioneer in Norwegian garden art and landscape architecture. The collection contains several projects by Moen, including the historical park on the college/University campus at Ås. This collection marked the starting point of the Archive.
Torborg Frølich (1911-2001)
Torborg Frølich had no formal degree in landscape architecture but attended some courses of Olav Moen at Ås. Later she was an assistant in the office of C.Th. Sørensen in Denmark. In 1936, she started her own practice in Bergen. Frølich worked mainly for private owners, but had a few larger projects including the award-winning Sjømennenes Boligbyggelag in Fyllingsdalen. The collection contains her works on private gardens from 1938 to 1960s.
Pål Sæland (1897-1979)
Pål Sæland was one of the first graduates from the newly established program in garden art led/established by Olav Moen. He became landscape architect at Kirkevergen (church administration) in Oslo in 1930 and worked in this position until 1967. He was responsible for the development of Østre gravlund (East cemetery), Vestre gravlund (West cemetery) and several smaller projects in Oslo. In 1948, the Norwegian government announced the position of Kirkegårdskonsult (expert in cemeteries and graveyards) and Sæland was the first landscape architect in this position.
Karen Reistad (1900-1994)
Karen Reistad had formal degrees from Kunsthøgskole in Oslo(1921) and the Höhere Gärtnerlehranstalt in Berlin-Dahlem (1923-25). She started her career at Aker municipality in 1925 and worked there until 1942. From 1954 she carried on the position after Pål Sæland as Kirkegårdskonsultent (expert in cemeteries and graveyards) for the government, where she was responsible for the establishment of war cemeteries after WWII in Norway. Reistad worked at Ås from 1953-70. Her works mainly consist of cemeteries, private gardens and some public parks.
Eyvind Strøm (1889-1988)
Eyvind Strøm worked with the first bygartner (city gardener) of Oslo Marius Røhne. Torshovparken and Torshovdalen are two important projects in Oslo where he collaborated with Røhne. He started the company Strøm and Hindhamar in 1927. The collection of Strøm contains projects of several private gardens and gardens related to companies, historical sites and urban spaces.
Collection of the landscape architecture practice Morten Grindaker (1925-2017) & Egil Gabrielsen (1933-1998)
Morten Grindaker (1925-2017) studied garden art at NLH in 1950-53. He participated in several architectural competitions such as Nesparken in Moss in 1951. He collaborated with the artist Erling Viksjø in the projects Regjeringskvartalet (Government quarters) in 1957 and Hydroparken in 1960-63. In 1959, he started working with Egil Gabrielsen (1933-98) in the practice Grindaker & Gabrielsen. In 1963, the company represented Norway in the International Garden Exhibition in Hamburg, IGA. Egil Gabrielsen worked at NLH since 1965 and became Professor in 1969.
Toralf Lønrusten (1936-2014) and Bjarne Aasen (1933-)
Both Lønrusten and Aasen were employees in the practice Grindaker & Gabrielsen. Lønrusten graduated from Ås in 1963. He was one of the first landscape architects working on larger landscape infrastructure. His main project was the landscape plan for the hydroelectric power station Aurland commissioned by NVE (Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate). In 1966, Lønrusten and Aasen started their own practice and remained active until 1976. One of their projects is the master plan for the campus Trondheim, Gløshaugen.
Special collection of Norwegian historical parks and gardens, initiated by Magne Bruun (1932-2018)
Professor Magne Bruun established this special collection in the 1960s. The collection includes documents, photographs and maps of 400 historical gardens and parks from all fylker (counties) in Norway. Most of them are made by Bruun and his colleagues at Ås in 1960s, when they visited several sites and made surveys including maps. The maps are digitalized.
Research and collaboration
The Historical Archive of Norwegian Landscape Architecture (ANLA) was a founding member of NELA – the Network of European Landscape Architecture Archives, established during the ECLAS (European Council of Landscape Architecture Schools) Conference held in Ås, Norway, in 2019.
In 2022, ANLA contributed to the Research Network ‘Where Are the Women in Scandinavian Landscape Architecture?’ by hosting its own workshop.
ANLA organized a workshop and public symposium titled ‘Changing Profession of Landscape Architecture in the 1960s-70s’ as part of the AHRC project ‘IFLA 75: Uncovering Hidden Histories in Landscape Architecture,’ which runs from November 2022 to November 2024.
Since autumn 2024, ANLA has been a partner in the COST Action ‘Connecting Landscape Architecture Archives to Enhance European Landscape Practice, Research, and Education (ConnectLAA),’ which will run from 2024 to 2028.
Access to the archive
The Archive of Norwegian Landscape Architecture opens to researchers, teachers and students.
The access to the archives depends on the research status as well as the physical conditions of the archives (some fragile materials may not be accessible due to conservation reasons).
An appointment is needed when visiting the Archive. Please indicate the specific collection(s) you would like to access to, and the purpose of using the material. To book an appointment or for other enquiries, please contact Professor Annegreth Dietze-Schirdewahn.
Please include following text when citing materials from the Archive:
Archive of Norwegian Landscape Architecture, School of Landscape Architecture, NMBU
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Besøksadresse : Gateadresse, 1430 Ås, Postadresse : Postboks nummer 1430 Ås
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