In 1969, a Y-block was erected in the government capital of the Norwegian capital. The light gray building by the architect Erling Viksjö received original artwork by Pablo Picasso directly in the concrete, sandblasted reliefs made in collaboration with the Norwegian artist Carl Nesjar.
In Anders Behring Breivik's bombing in 2011, the Y-block received such serious damage that it is not considered safe and should be demolished.
After six years of inflamed debate and legal proceedings, the demolition decision remains. And the concrete reliefs will also be allowed to remain, however, in a different place and without the Y-block building.
The wall sections have been sawn off, and fitted with protective steel scaffolding to cope with the move, writes NRK. On Monday, the moving crew lined up with powerful cranes and jacks - and a vehicle that was specially built to be able to carry the heavy concrete wall.
The relief "Fiskarna" which sits on the building's entrance facade weighs 250 tonnes, including the steel cage. The "seagull" sitting on a wall inside the foyer weighs 60 tons. The move to a first temporary storage site will be carried out during the week.
The works will later be built into the new government quarter on the same site - both completely new buildings and old renovated ones - with planned start of construction in 2021 and completion from 2025 to 2029.