Text: Per Erling Bakke

Adapted and translated into English by Ivar Teigum

When it was erected in the late 1970s, the modern building was soon nicknamed the Rainbow inspired by the form of the windows and indicating a point of view on the foreignness of its architecture. In the district this was something really special. Later a raised roof has been added with parallel triangular windows providing the attics inside with more light and space.

The original building from the 1970s with its flat roof.

In the Sel community the 1970s represented industrial expansion and optimism soon to sober in the 1980s. From day one Old Turmo was owned by investors and firms with their base in other parts of the country, but with an intention to have a certain market contact in the district. The firms have mostly specialized in construction equipment and furniture.

The modern Old Turmo was not to become a success. The first owner, a firm in Lillehammer, intended to sell building materials. But a newspaper facsimile from 1980 indicates a somewhat gloomy foreboding. Then a new owner admitted that rental in the large building was not an easy task. A more durable solution has not dawned throughout the years.

The modern commercial building facing the Main Street.

In recent years a plan has been launched to convert the upper stories to flats with a social purpose, and with an indoor garage on the ground floor.