Aud Max 1970 

Aud Max is short for Auditorium Maximum. The building was completed in 1970 and was mentioned in Byggekunst in 1971. The building is listed (protected by law due to its historical and cultural value).

Aud Max was drawn by Leif Olav Moen (1928 – 1986). He was an architect and professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTNU). His most significant works can be found at Blindern, University of Oslo: the Faculty of History - Philosophy (1963), the Mathematics Building (1966), and the Faculty of Social Sciences (1968).

The building is made of concrete and glass with elements of aluminum. Aud Max is NMBU’s largest auditorium and is used for concerts, revues, large events, teaching, and conducting exams. The building was listed in the national preservation plan for the Ministry of Education in 2014.

History  

According to written information from the building committee, the prelude to Auditorium Maximum was the marking of the 100th anniversary of Norway’s agricultural college in 1959. The first discussions about the need for a new building started as early as 1956. It was then suggested to place the building south of Økonomibygningen. The building was to be financed half from state grants and half from gifts from agricultural organizations and private actors. On October 28, 1959, the Ministry of Agriculture appointed a building committee. The Student Union then took an initiative. They suggested flexible operation and cooperation by attaching the building to where the Student Union was located. The students needed more space, as the number of students had increased after 1934. And so it was.

In 1964, the building committee was tasked with announcing a new architectural competition for a building with an extended area of use. 15 proposals were received, and the first prize draft was used as the basis for further work. The preliminary project was carried out, and the construction costs were estimated at 5.8 million for the first part of the project. On August 8, 1969, the construction work was started, and in August 1970, it was formally opened. The project cost 6.5 million kroner, including stage equipment and interior.

Plan for the building 

The Ministry of Agriculture was the client, represented by a building committee where the Norwegian Agricultural College (NLH) was well represented. The building was to be used for many different activities. The college would use it for teaching activities, matriculation, doctoral promotions, conferences, congresses, academic festivities, and banquets. The students would use the building for the Student Union’s larger meetings, lectures, discussions, balls, larger parties, revues, theater, and concert activities   
 
The building was to be flexible, so that it could easily be adapted for the various activities. It was to be a solid building, able to withstand heavy use without too much operational and maintenance costs. 
 
At the same time, the building was to be connected to the Student Union in a good way, and take into account the burial mounds and ancient monuments in the area.

The large hall on the second floor has 750 seats. Half of the floor area is flat and the rear part is raised with steps designed for two rows of chairs. The stage was set up as a complete theater stage with stage house, light bridge, rope pulls, and dimming equipment. It was prepared for an orchestra pit, as the front part of the stage can be lowered to floor level. At the back of the hall, there was an announcement studio, sound and light control, and channels and hatches for direct connection to NRK’s radio and TV reportage vans. Boxes for simultaneous interpreters were removable. The information is taken from Byggenytt, Norwegian building magazine, May 1970. 

The second step was to connect Aud Max to the Society Building, so that one could move indoors between the two buildings.  

Thanks to large donations from Bøndenes bank A/S, and a grant from the Norwegian Cultural Fund, it was possible to commission contemporary art in the Aud Max project. The trio Carl Nesjar, Inger Sitter, and Gunnar S. Gundersen were commissioned to deliver the largest artworks for the project. 

• Nesjar delivered a year-round fountain that stands outside the main entrance (200,000 NOK). 

• Sitter created a concrete relief in the vestibule (100,000 NOK)

• Gundersen designed the stage curtain for the large hall (50,000 NOK).

This information is sourced from Byggekunst, May 1970. It also states that “an intimate collaboration was established with this trio. 

The Art and Artists of Aud Max 

Carl Nesjar (1920-2005)  

The year-round fountain/sculpture was completed in 1971. The work is a steel construction that utilizes water play during the summer months, and in winter it is covered with icicles and crystals.

• Carl Nesjar was a Norwegian painter, graphic artist, and sculptor who was at the forefront of post-war modernist artists. Carl Nesjar holds a unique position on today’s international art map, and this is due to his many years of collaboration with Pablo Picasso.  
• His most famous public work is the concrete relief in the government quarter in Oslo, which he created in collaboration with Pablo Picasso between 1956 and 1971. The two have collaborated on several occasions.  
• In the decoration of The Government Building in Oslo, he also collaborated with Inger Sitter.  
   

Inger Sitter (1929 -2015)  

The characteristic rock wall in the lobby was erected in 1969-1970. Concrete reliefs in concrete and plexiglass. There were supposed to be lights in the plexiglass, programmed in multiple colors, running all day. It hasn’t worked very well over the period. Now, in 2024, it has been fixed and is functioning.

• Inger Sitter was a Norwegian graphic artist and painter, and one of our earliest modernists. 
• At the age of 13, she participated in the Summer Exhibition at the Trondheim Art Association, where she gained attention. 
• She is known for large monumental decorations, from the decoration in the Government Building in Oslo in 1957-1958 to her last decoration in marble on the S/S Vision of the Seas. 

Gunnar S. Gundersen 

The stage curtain painted using i Iris technique, with Strax paint. Gunnar S. Gundersen was a painter. He was central to the breakthrough of non-figurative painting in the 1950s.

• In the festival exhibition in Bergen in 1967, Gunnar S. showcased the iris technique for the first time, which he had created himself. The iris technique involved creating fluid transitions between colors, for example, from black to white. This achieved a metallic effect in the images 
• The fluid transitions were easier to achieve with acrylic paint, which Gunnar S. started using as early as 1963, when Jotun began producing Strax.  
• The decoration of the facade of the Artists’ Association by Gunnar S. and Eikaas, built in the summer of 1950, is today Gunnar S.'s most visible and best-known decorative work. 
  
  
  
  Interesting coincidences and connections

Inger Sitter and Carl Nesjar were married at the time.

At the Lake Placid Olympic facility, a year-round fountain by Carl Nesjar was installed in 1980, about 10 years after a similar fountain was set up at the sports facility Storebrand near Aud Max.

Both Gunnar S. and Carl Nesjar often collaborated with Odd Tanberg from Ås.

Gunnar S. and Eikaas, along with Odd Tandberg, Tor Hoff, and Egil Øen, formed the so-called “Death Gang” at the School of Arts and Crafts. The origin of the name is unclear, but it likely relates to their hard living and working habits. There are countless stories of “sea battles” in Nordmarka with drunken brawls and subsequent sore faces in the following days.

Gunnar S. Gundersen had a study mate who became his brother-in-law and worked at Jotun factories.

Joar Arne Heir, who worked at Agricultural Engineering/NLH, developed a technique for cutting styrofoam. This technique was used as formwork for the concrete relief by Inger Sitter in Aud Max.

Rehabilitation in 2026

After more than 50 years, it is strictly necessary to upgrade Aud Max. The university is allocating its own funds and has received 30 million from The Free Upgrade Funds Scheme

Aud Max is a landmark building in terms of its function as the university’s largest auditorium. Modernization could increase the use of the building. The rehabilitation thus contributes to the sector’s long-term plan to strengthen the quality of education and research. At the same time, Aud Max, together with Samfunnsbygningen, plays an important role as a welfare facility for students. It is especially important for Uka in Ås. An extensive rehabilitation and energy efficiency improvement will contribute to the sector’s goals of sustainable societal development, welfare, and innovation, as well as the university’s preservation of important cultural heritage through use. 

An upgrade will also make the venue a very good arena for dialogue, teaching, and exams. It will also facilitate the use of modern teaching methods, allowing the university to conduct more and better teaching in the venue. The frequency of use can thus be increased, and the place will remain a meeting point for interdisciplinary and social events, concerts, and other larger gatherings.  

Increased use of these facilities could help create a vibrant campus life beyond working hours. NMBU is committed to creating meeting places that attract students, among other things, to prevent feelings of loneliness.  

In line with the preservation purpose, the upgrade will ensure that the main structure of the architectural expression, as well as surfaces and materials, lighting, fixtures, and other original furnishings are preserved. The technical rehabilitation will help NMBU achieve its environmental goals through reduced energy and resource consumption.