The building received, transformed and distributed all electricity coming from the Tysso I power station to the smelting plant, other activities and after some time also to private homes in Odda. The power line came from Tyssedal, crossed the Opo River and entered the distribution station, where the cables passed through the brick wall.
The white building on the riverbank wherethe electricity from the hydropower plant in Tyssedal was recieved and distributed. Photo: Kraftmuseet archives
It was thanks to the power produced in hydroelectric stations as the Tysso I that heavy industry could be established in Norway. On the 4th of May 1908 power was transmitted to the carbide factory for the first time. The building was for many years the property of AS Tyssefaldene, as a part of the Tysso I station. The present-day owner is Odda Energi AS. It is the new white wing on the side closest to the river bank that receives power today. It was built when the Tysso II station was built in 1967.
The building is an example of international brick architecture with classicist details, a style that is representative of industrial towns with foreign, especially English, owners.
The international architecture is very different from the regional building tradition in Hardanger, and brings Odda closer to a more international community.
The building was renovated in 2013 and turned into an archive with climatically controlled storage areas, rooms where documents are received, meeting rooms and work rooms for the organization of industry archives.
Manager of the industrial archives; Siri Jordal. Photo: Harald Hognerud Kraftmuseet
The industrial archive
The industrial archive receives, organizes and stores private archives from industry to make them available to the public. The activity documents industry history and contributes to research in the archive materials. The centre will offer digital archive services for enterprises. Industry archives contain important information about management, employees, changes and decisions made by companies, and documents businesses’ rights and duties in relation to public authorities and other parties. The storage of private archives plays an important role in documenting all aspects of our society’s activities. Available industry archives guarantee an authentic documentation of the past.
The building is a good example of how old buildings can be protected by finding new ways to use them.
