Norway Architects

[Guest Fulci]

What are the top young architects in Norway, specially Oslo or Bergen, and which would be the best ones to work for?

What's the average wage for an architect there?

[Tisswat]

I wouldn't dare to recommend any in particular, but these firms have been receiving quite a bit of attention in recent years:

Code Arkitektur AS

2920 Toyen

0608 Oslo

Norway

http://www.code.no/

BO Arkitekter AS

Fantoftveien 16,

N-5072 Bergen

Norway

Tel: +47 55 27 71 65 Fax: +47 55 27 71 51

Email: [email protected]

http://www.boarkitekter.no

Space Group Arkitekter AS

Hausmannsgate 16

0182 Oslo

Norway

http://www.spacegroup.no

Snøhetta AS

Skur 39, Vippetangen

N-0150 Oslo

Norway

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: +47 24 15 60 60

Fax: +47 24 15 60 61

http://www.snoarc.no

Snøhetta AS, NY Office

25 Broadway, 2 nd floor

New York

NY 10004

Tel: 00 1 (646) 383 4762

Fax: 00 1 (212) 514 5816

ALA Arkitekter AS

Vestre Strandgate 42

4612 Kristiansand

Norway

http://www.ala-a.com

Helen & Hard Arkitekfirma AS

Vindmøllebakken 2

4014 Stavanger

Norway

http://www.hha.no/

Helen & Hard currently have an opening.

(no pun intended)

[Guest Fulci]

Thank you for the quick reply!

Do you know any small groups? I want to go there on an intership. Do you think foreign interns are well received in Norway?

You come from Amsterdam. How is the job market in the Netherlands? Do they pay in OMA?

[Tisswat]

I couldn't tell you anything about the job market or the working conditions. Obviously most bigger firms will employ interns. Helen & Hard does too.

I guess the best way to find out is just to take the plunge and settle there for a few weeks and try to get as many interviews as possible. The more experience and talent you have, the easier it will be to land a position. My guess is that most agencies will be a bit stand-offish if you ask them about opportunities from (I'm assuming) abroad. It's always better to (at least be able to) show up at their doorstep. Then again, a few phone calls never hurt nobody.

Another idea is to try to contact some of the government-subsidized organisations. Here in Holland that would be the Netherlands Architecture Institute and perhaps the Premsela Foundation. I'm pretty sure Norway has similar organisations. I have no idea if they will be helpful at all, but you might just get lucky and get a few tips or even contacts out of it. Visiting one of their events is pretty good for networking.

Last but not least: you might try to get in touch with some Norwegian architecture students. Try poking around on forums/Facebook/Myspace/whereever and try to get more info out of them. They can probably tell you more about the current job market.

Sorry.. that's pretty much all the help I can give you.

Good luck!

[Guest Fulci]

Thank very much, that was a very big help...

The problem with Norway is that it's so expensive that it's impossible to go there and stay a couple of weeks to look for jobs. That would cost me around €1000 per week. I was paying like €4 for a coffee (it costs €0.55 for one in Portugal)... And I don't think I even know anyone there, so I can't just crash in a sofa for a few days.

Someone there told me that the average student in their 3rd year in Oslo gets around €4000 per month, which is a lot even for Norway.

Anyway, do you know how much is an intern payed in the Netherlands?

[superdupersang]

Helen & Hard currently have an opening.

that is just magic.

[Tisswat]

Anyway, do you know how much is an intern payed in the Netherlands?

It could range anywhere between 300 and 900 euros a month.

[Guest Fulci]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tisswat

Helen & Hard currently have an opening.

that is just magic.

Yeah but it's far from Oslo in a very small city... Even though they seemed interesting.

Anyway, 300 - 900 is not very much. Is it enough to survive in the Netherlands? What's the average wage there and how is the cost of living nowadays?

[Tisswat]

I guess 900 euros would just about cover for rent and food here in Amsterdam. Costs of living outside of the cities will be slightly cheaper, especially housing. Internships where you earn that much are quite rare though.

[Guest Fulci]

If I go to the Netherlands, I'd be going to Rotterdam. That's where everyone is, I guess. But I guess it's the same price. My allowance is about half of that so if I get the other half from the studio it'd be enough, I think. I just wouldn't for any extras, probably not even for night out or trips around the country or for the red light district. Even less for shopping. But it'd be interesting.

In Portugal, the sallary for an intern is two minimum wages per month. The minimum wage here, unfortunately, is aroung €400, so I'd be getting €800. This is more than enough for Portuguese standards, for a rent and food.

I'm just looking for the experience of working abroad. Didn't have the opportunity for Erasmus.

[Tisswat]

If I go to the Netherlands, I'd be going to Rotterdam.

You will regret this decision.

Oh, by the way.. http://www.loosarchitects.nl/navigationpages/infojobs.html

[Swych]

that guy isnt by any chance related to adolf loos?

[Tisswat]

I don't think so. Perhaps Rebecca is?

[Guest Fulci]

I bet Loos is sorry she isn't...

[Swych]

!! got busted by proj architect looking at the loos pic.

[enatoka]

What are the top young architects in Norway, specially Oslo or Bergen, and which would be the best ones to work for?

What's the average wage for an architect there?

forget trying to get a job in architecture, instead start a black metal band, and build stave churches.

i mean you are going to norway.

[Guest Fulci]

That was the whole idea... The architecture thing was just a scam. All I wanted was to be the new singer for Mayhem... and why build churches? Is burning them so last season?

Well, just been noticed that I won't be able to do it until February because of school's delays. A friend just gave me a cool ideia. Do an interrail or a tour around Europe to show portfolios around all the cool cities (that pay).

My problem is my girlfriend. I'm feeling really bad for leaving her...

[sybaritical]

Put her on stun, then go and pick her up again when you're finished working.

HMn.

Churches.

[Guest Fulci]

Or maybe just kill her... I'll be in another country anyway, so the police won't look out for me in Norway. They don't have any money to be there for long.

[123ok]

hi fulci. sorry, i totally forgot about this. i read an article in bergens tidende (local newspaper) last year during christmas about some arcitechtual event and i wrote down the companys that were mentioned so i could let you know but like i said, i totally forgot. sorry about that. anyways, if you still haven't already figured out what you are going to do here is the bergen based names that were mentioned in the article;

Niels Torp AS,

3RW,

Schmidt, Hammer og Lassen

Hope this helps.

[Guest Fulci]

Thank you so much! For still remembering me and for caring so much.

I did send a few e-mails to some architects and groups in Norway, but only two have replied. One told they only applied norsk speaking employees, the other did asked for my portfolio and how much I was planning to be paid. These one were one of the coolest, Fantastic Norway, they have their office in a red trailer which goes around from town to town dependig on the job they're making. I haven't got time (I'm lying, I did, just felt lazy) to send them the CV and portfolio (which needs updating), but I'm not really sure about them anyway, as they seem to far out for me.

Now, I'm not really sure whether I want to make my internship abroad.

The thing is that I really want to try living in a foreing country, but getting an internship is not very hard to get here, but a job is. So I was thinking of making the internship here, and then try getting a job abroad. There's no future in Portugal anyway. As I'm still waiting (for 3 months) to present my final work for school, so I can finish it (finally), I'm still deciding this.

But, again, thank you for all your trouble, I'll be sure to check them tomorrow.

Just on more thing, if someone asks me how much I want to get paid, in Norway, do you think 25.000 or 30.000kr month is too much? What's the average and minimum income there?

[123ok]

I guess a minimum monthly wage (7,5 hours a day, 5 days a week) here would be around 18 000 NOK, maybe a little less. An average wage I have no idea what would be.. Probably around 25 000 or something.. Both these figures are before tax though.. The tax is normally around 30-40% I think. Maybe someone else who is more familiar with being on payrolls in Norway should chime in here though. Nor do I have any idea what architects normally earn either, or interns for that matter.. So I don't really know what to answer you when it comes to whether it's ok to ask for 20-30 000. Maybe you should ask them how much they normally pay to interns and tell that you don't know how much money is needed to get by in Norway.

Bergen is not a very big city so maybe there aren't enough options for you. I guess even Oslo would be very big compared.. Have you thought about Stockholm perhaps?

[Guest Fulci]

I thought about Stockholm but I've never been there. I even have RyanAir from here to Stockholm directly, so that would be a big plus, wouldn't have to go to London or Madrid to get the flight. The thing is that I did fell in love with Norway, I really liked it, even though I have never been to Sweden yet. I'm trying to get some time to go there. Plus, I don't know any swedish architect. I did know a couple of them from Norway, but never heard of anyone from Sweden. Not that I'm putting Stockholm away already, I'd just rather go to Oslo.

Or maybe Stockholm is a better place to live in and Oslo is great for the weekends, I don't know. I just don't like big cities. Oslo is about the right size. You can walk everywhere, but you also have as many or even more things to do and see than many bigger capitals.

And I can always get a train to Sweden or a ferry to Denmark or the Netherlands, and with the low-cost flights, Europe is becoming really, really small...

[Guest Fulci]

Damn, 30-40% is a LOT! even if I'd get 30.000kr, that would leave like 18.000. With 4000 for a room and 2000 for coffee, that would leave almost nothing for beer!

[123ok]

I'm not sure what you'd have to pay as you're not a Norwegian citizen. If you are looking for a beautiful city/town, I think bergen will blow you away. It's actually a very beautiful town, much nicer than say Oslo (atleast that is my opinion). I also think some other person that aren't biased like me (I think it was poly800rock) agreed with me on that part.

I think 18 000 NOK will work fine. It's not like you'll be a baller or anything but you only have yourself to think about, right? And if so, 18 000 will be more than enough, trust me. I think any normal person with only theirself and no loans to think about could probably get by with 12 000 after tax as well.

[Guest Fulci]

Yeah, I know. I went first to Bergen before going to Oslo, and it is much more beautiful. It's incredible. Very cozy and lively. My city has around 2 million people and you don't see 1/10th of the people you see in the streets there at night.

But I'm not so sure about the 12.000kr. Everything is so expensive. Groceries and supermarkets cost around 3 times as much as in here or most EU countries. And for 40kr for a beer you can get drunk in Portugal.

Or maybe not... 12.000kr is more than enough even for Norway, I guess...

[Tisswat]

Hey Fulci, I just came across this site and thought of this thread. I know it's not Norwegian, but helpful nevertheless?

http://www.archined.nl/cgi-bin/vacaturebank/classifieds.cgi?session_key=&search_and_display_db_button=on&results_format=headlines&query=category&category=Stageplaats+Aangeboden

[kristoffersen]

Hi!

Don't know if I'm a little late, but here's the contact info to the National Association of Norwegian Architects, I hope they'll answer your questions:

E-mail: nal (at) arkitektur (dot) no

Phone: +47 23 33 25 00