The Y-block, a now demolished building in the Norwegian government quarters, was designed by Erling Viksjø. The Y-block was finished in 1969, and featured two large murals by Pablo Picasso.In collaboration with Carl Nesjar. Fiskerne (“the fishermen”)Picasso & Nesjar, 1970a. and Måken (”the seagull”).Picasso & Nesjar, 1970b.
In 2011, the government quarters were damaged in a terrorist bombing. Despite strong protests, an official decision was made to tear down the Y-block in 2019. It was finally demolished in 2020.Grønvold, 2021.
Monokrom’s Viksjø typeface was conceived during this protest. A number of letterforms from the typeface were cast in concreteHelland & Sabel, 2019. and featured in a 2019 exhibition.Solvang et al, 2019. Two concrete Y’s were produced – one is in private ownership, the other was donated to the department responsible for the demolition.
Grønvold, U. (24 august 2021). Regjeringskvartalet [The Government Quarters]. In Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 20 September 2026 from snl.no
Gunnarsjaa, A. (1 August 2023). Erling Viksjø. In Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 20 September 2026 from snl.no
Helland, F., Sabel, N. (2019). Byråkrati [Letters in cast concrete]. Oslo.
Picasso, P., Nesjar, C. (1970a). Fiskerne [The Fishermen, drawing sandblasted in concrete]. Oslo.
Picasso, P., Nesjar, C. (1970b). Måken [The Seagull, drawing sandblasted in concrete]. Oslo.
Solvang, A. B., Kvammen, A., Nielsen, C. Helland, F., Dæhli, J. H., Hembre Singstad, S. Singstad, & Claussen, C. (2019). Spreng den/Riv den [Blow it up/Tear it down] [Group Exhibition]. Oslo.
Viksjø, E. (1970). Y-blokka [The Y building] [Nordic modernist architecture]. Oslo.
