The Best Weapon - Using gravity to bring people together
A six-and-a-half meter-long installation named «The Best Weapon» has been placed in front of the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo and will be unveiled on December 8th at 16:00 CET. The sculpture is designed by Snøhetta to encourage dialogue and peaceful conversation and is created in partnership with Hydro and Vestre.
The installation, which also acts as a bench, is titled “The Best Weapon” after Nelson Mandela’s historic quote, “The best weapon is to sit down and talk”. It pays tribute to Nelson Mandela’s humane ideals of compromise, dialogue and compassion, as well as other Nobel Peace Prize laureates and their efforts to bring people together to find effective solutions for peace.
Commissioned by the Nobel Peace Center, The Best Weapon was first installed outside the UN Headquarters in New York on Nelson Mandela Day in July 2019. It has now been transferred to its new and permanent location outside the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, where it will be unveiled Wednesday, December 8th at 4 PM, two days before the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
The event will take place outside the Nobel Peace Center and the Norwegian Minister of Culture, Anette Trettebergstuen, will unveil the sculpture. Norway’s former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland and the Nobel Committee's newest and youngest member, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, will also be present.
Using gravity to pull people together
“Designed as a partial circle that meets the ground at its lowest point, the gentle arc of the bench pulls those sitting on it closer together, subsequently and subtly encouraging dialogue”, explains Marius Myking, Director of Product Design at Snøhetta.
The installation is made from anodized aluminum from Hydro. The aluminum is the world’s greenest with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than the industry average. In addition to creating a beautiful surface, the anodized finish of the bench has high corrosion resistance and protection against scratching.
It is produced by Vestre in a completely carbon-neutral process. Bead-blasted and pre-distressed, the sturdy material will ensure the bench’s longevity, promoting diplomacy and dialogue for many years to come.
