Sporveismuseet is located in Gardeveien 15, the former Kristiania Electric Tramway Depot No. 5, built for Oslo’s blue trams in 1913. Today, the building stands as one of the remaining traces of the city’s early electric tram infrastructure and is regulated for heritage protection.

The project proposed a new entrance for the museum, improving universal accessibility while making the institution more visible in its surroundings. An existing non-original vehicle gate was replaced by a glazed entrance, and a freestanding canopy was introduced within the depth of the existing port recess.

The intervention was developed in dialogue with Oslo’s heritage authority. Rather than restoring the façade to an earlier state, the project added a clearly contemporary element that could support the building’s public use as a museum.

Reversibility was central to the design. The new entrance was placed within an existing opening and designed without altering the historic brick façade or primary structure. This allowed the building’s heritage values to remain intact while adapting it to present-day requirements for access, visibility and public use.

The project shows how small, precise interventions can strengthen the use of a protected building, allowing a historic structure to remain active and accessible without weakening its architectural character.