Go-ahead was finally given to the Munch Museum to build a $273 million, 12,000 sq. ft. glass structure on Oslo’s waterfront. The decision was annnounced last Tuesday and came four years after the Spanish architectural firm Herreros Arquitectos won the competition to design the new building.

Local politicians delayed the approval of the "Lambda" project over issues of cost and the location of the new museum. Oposition wanted the new building to be located on the museum's current site in residential Toyen. 

A major exhibition, "Munch 150", opened on June 2 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Norway's most famous artist. It is one of many Munch-related events this year in Oslo, the fastest-growing city in Europe.

With an expected cost of NKr1.6bn ($273m), the new museum is due to open in 2018.