The opening of the new Munch Museum has been postponed until the autumn, Norwegian media including Dagbladet and Aftenposten reported earlier this week.

A new opening date for the museum in Oslo’s Bjørvika neighbourhood has not been confirmed.

“Due to delays, we have not been able to properly test the air conditioner. We must therefore postpone, communications director Gitte Skilbred told Dagbladet.

The handover of the building from a contractor to the constructor has been delayed due to incomplete delivery of fire and security doors as well insufficient performance and unsatisfactory operation of the building’s climate systems, the newspaper writes.

The new Munch museum has already been the subject of criticism over its design. Architecture editor Gaute Brochmann, in comments to Dagbladet, has likened it to a “threatening black shadow, a coal-grey block looming over the Opera”.

While the new museum is delayed, the Munch Museum in the Tøyen area of Oslo will remain open throughout the summer.

The announcement is the second delay to a major new Oslo museum in recent months.

In November, the National Museum in Oslo announced a delay to its scheduled re-opening until spring 2021.

The six-month postponement was due to two critical deliveries being themselves delayed, NTB reported last year.

The National Gallery in Oslo closed temporarily in January 2019 in order to serve as storage until collections can be moved to the new National Museum, initially scheduled for the autumn of this year.

The delays were caused by late completion of technical facilities and mandatory security doors, NTB reported.

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