From bank building to event house - the story behind Sentralen
Here you will find out how one of Oslo's Christiania Sparebank's head office turned into one of Oslo's most versatile event houses. You can read about the development of the building from the land purchase in 1853 to the opening of Sentralen in 2016.
Christiania Sparebank acquires the land and builds its head office in 1853
Christiania Sparebank was established in 1822. The bank was Norway's first savings bank and had a distinct social purpose: to give the working class a place to save money. Until then, banks existed only for businesses. This was Norway's first bank for private individuals.
Large parts of the bank's profits were spent on social projects, developments and renovations in the capital.
Sparebanken was headquartered at several leased locations in the city before it was decided that the bank should get its own head office.
In 1853 Christiania Sparebank bought its own plot of land in Øvre Slottsgate 3.
The house that stood on the plot was demolished, and in 1854 the newly built head office of the bank opened - designed by architect Holtermann.
The building had a facade facing Øvre Slottsgate 3 and courtyards with caretaker's residence facing Akersgata.
On the third floor of the building was the hall where the board of trustees of the bank met to discuss its board and purpose. This is the venue that we now call Forstanderskapssalen.
Monumental redevelopment and new style 1899-1901
After a short time the premises became too small and unfashionable for the bank. Henrik Nissen won the architectural competition that the bank advertised for the redevelopment.
He drew inspiration from Copenhagen and Berlin and designed a new, grand building in vignite architecture.
The new building was completed in 1901, and clearly shows the change in style that took place in Norwegian architecture at that time. Elements of the Neo-Renaissance were mixed with clear National Romantic expressions.
In the façade, Nissen used, among other things, Norwegian Iddefjord granite. Around the windows he decorated with soapstone carved in National Romantic patterns.
The bank gained four floors of safe-deposit box vaults at the core of the building. In the walls of the safe deposit box vault, railway rails were bricked in crosswise, which were supposed to ensure that burglars could not burrow through the walls, floor or ceiling.
Today, the premises of Hvelvet, Studio A and Studio B, and the meeting room Bankboksen are located in the old safe deposit box vaults.
“This bank will stand forever, if it is not blown up by pressure from within.”
- Architect Henrik Nissen at the opening of Christiania Sparebank, April 14, 1901.
New expedition hall and modern buildings in the 1920s
Between 1923 and 1926, the building was further expanded.
The caretaker's residence in the backyard was demolished and an expedition hall with a glass pyramid was built in the ceiling in the old backyard. The result was a larger, brighter and more functional expedition room — what is today Marmorsalen.
The bank also had a fourth floor built. On this floor you will find Produksjonsrom 1 - 3, Gymsalen, Galleriet and the stairs leading up to Kronesalen and the roof terrace.
One might think that working hours training and perks like fitness center memberships are modern additions to workplace welfare. However, the bank clerks in Christiania Sparebank got their own training room in the bank in the 1920s, in what is now called Gymsalen.
The bank acquires Tollbugata 30 and merges the buildings
The building which on the ground floor contains the main entrance, Sentralen Kafe and Restaurant Hitchhiker has the address Tollbugata 30. This building was completed in 1901, and is a typical business farm from that time. The building had a steel skeleton and an elevator — which was completely new at this time. The architect was Ivar Cock - he later designed the Hotel Continental.
In 1903, the bank bought the neighbouring building Tollbugata 30, merging the two buildings together with Øvre Slottsgate 3 into a large banking complex.
On the façade of this building are the words GUD WÆRE 1689 MED OSS. These are anchor irons that were moved from the building that was built at this address after the great fire in the area in 1689.
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Neighbouring plot becomes car park and gas station
The bank had since the 1870s had Johannes Church as a neighbor. Fissures were quickly found in the church, and the earthquake of 23 October 1904 did not make matters better.
In the late 1920s, demolition of the church began.
The plot was converted into parking lot for the bank, and Esso station in the late 30s. Rådhusgata, which runs across Christiania Torv was then the westbound direction of E18, and one of the main roads through Oslo. It was very convenient to have a gas station right there!
Sparebankstiftelsen Dnb acquires the buildings in 2007
In 2007, Sparebankstiftelsen Dnb bought the buildings from DnB.
Dnb was to consolidate its offices in new buildings in Bjørvika, and sold off its five existing buildings in Oslo.
DnB continued to have its offices in the building, and Sparebankstiftelsen Dnb moved in. DNB's asset managers had offices in Marmorsalen.
Sparebankstiftelsen's aim in purchasing the buildings was primarily as an investment, but it quickly became clear that the premises could be used for something more.
Instead of selling on, the foundation began investigating the possibility of creating a new purpose for the buildings.
What does Oslo need? Over 200 interviews lead to an idea
In 2012, the pilot project for Sentralen started. 60 people working in 20 organizations sat in office space in Marmorsalen. The pilot was used to test the concept of Sentralen.
In 2011, Martin Eia-Revheim was commissioned by Sparebankstiftelsen Dnb to find out how the house could be used in a way that could be linked to the foundation's non-profit activities.
Through 220 interviews with cultural actors and social innovators, it became clear that Oslo lacked an open meeting and workplace for cultural production, and a gathering place for social innovators working to find new solutions to challenges in society.
The result was the idea of Sentralen — a gathering place for art, social innovation and cultural production. The pilot tested services, routines and the operations of Sentralen.
Today we have office space on four floors for cultural producers and social innovators.
Architectural competition and total renovation
In 2014, an architectural competition was conducted for the total renovation of the two buildings. The winners were KIMA Arkitektur and Atelier Oslo. The architects wanted to showcase the original qualities of the building, and at the same time facilitate the professional rental of the premises.
Five artists were commissioned to decorate Sentralen with site-specific art. Over the old backyard, which was previously full of garbage bins, a roof was built. This backyard is today called Vinterhagen.
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Sentralen opened on March 1, 2016
On March 1, we opened the doors of Sentralen for the first time.
Since this date, we have rented premises, halls and stages, meeting rooms and production rooms for all kinds of events and meetings.
Since the opening, many organizers have received discounted rent through our rental schemes - funded by Sparebankstiftelsen Dnb. In this way, Sentralen is linked to the non-profit purposes of Sparebankstiftelsen.
Through the Sentralen UNG rental scheme, thousands of children have been able to experience fun activities and events with us.
We expand with new premises and roof terrace
Right before the pandemic, we found that we wanted more premises that we could rent out.
Three floors of the safe-deposit vault had not been refurbished and, in addition, it was possible to build a new room in one of the ventilation rooms on the upper floor. It also turned out that we had the opportunity to build a two-level roof terrace.
In November 2021, the Kronesalen and the roof terrace were completed.
Shortly afterwards, Studio A, Studio B Podcaststudio and the meeting room Bankboksen were completed.
During the pandemic, we created a new rental scheme: Sentralen MINT. The rental scheme is for diverse and inclusive events, which create belonging.
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