The Nobel Peace Center, Oslo

The Nobel Peace prize is awarded in Oslo by a comittee appointed by the Norwegian national assembly. The Nobel Peace Center was opened quite recently to give visitors somewhere to go to and learn about the prize. It is situated in one of Oslo�s most beautiful buildings, the former railway terminal for west-going trains. Peace is an abstract term, and unlike for instance war, it does not have many physical artefacts such as planes and tanks. The centre has resorted to art to get around this. The art in question are high-tec, multi-sensory, post-modern installations. My personal favourite is the �The Garden of Nobel� by David Adjaye and David Small. It consists of blue, light-emitting diodes on stalks and small screens showing the laureates. The screens react to your presence. Also the more information-oriented aspects are interesting for their technology. Among them is an electronic �wall paper� (paper as in newspaper) that you control using levers. The centre also has a small exhibition area for temporary exhibits. This is typically about the latest winner. Though nice, the centre did not quite satisfy. I was left craving more. One of the very tasty cakes in the caf� did help a little though.