a+u 24:05, 644

a+u’s May issue features Manthey Kula. Based in Norway, the firm was founded in 2004 by Beate Hølmebakk and Per Tamsen. This issue includes 13 built works and 5 paper-architecture projects. Manthey Kula’s buildings result from the encounter between the given program, sensitivity to the site, and methods of construction, while their paper architecture explores the relationship between storytelling and form through varied inspirations – dreams seen by others, women depicted in literature, an imaginary tribunal, and narratives woven by self and others. Manthey Kula’s architecture is based on story, making, and how things are made. They use words, drawings, and materials to construct a new and potent reality. In a world where architectural approaches and values have diversified, Manthey Kula targets another public realm – fiction – prompting the viewer’s intuition and imagination to “reaffirm our presence in the world.” (a+u)