The building replaces the former Bergen Academy of Art & Design. It has two main axes–one internal, dedicated to students and staff, and one external, open to the public. Under the KMD roof, these axes cross each other in a project hall that becomes a transition zone between public and private areas and a hub for students, professors, and visitors where they can interchange ideas and thoughts and learn from one another. The entrance is connected to a large outdoor plaza that makes the building inviting and engaged in a dialogue with Bergen's city center.

A prominent aspect of the KMD building is its robust and malleable characteristics. Both the project hall and the 410 rooms surrounding it, including class rooms, offices, and workshops of various sizes, have been specially designed to both foster creativity and withstand harsh treatment which is an ordinary thing for every art school. When designing the main goal was to free students and staff from any kind of boarders that could be created by the chosen colors, materials, surfaces and architectural solutions.

While the creative work areas are specially constructed to provide plain functionality, social and administrative spaces have been designed for people to be able to work and relax together. For example, the cantilevered box-shaped windows emerging from the façade may serve as zones for communication and leisure time activities where students can come together over a cup of coffee to have a discussion, relax, and enjoy the view during brakes or after classes.

900 seawater-durable crude pre-fabricated raw aluminum elements of various sizes and shapes clad the building's façade protruding from the wall at varying distances. Large cantilevered windows stand out and attract a lot of attention. Such aluminum surfaces can withstand the rainy coastal climate and will gradually weather and oxidize, heightening the variations in colors and textures. They also made it possible for the designers to play with different architectural ideas as the material turned out to be quite flexible and easy to shape.

The windows of the building are set at different heights to allow for maximum usable wall space and excellent daylight conditions. Moreover, the glass roof conveys light from the sky which melts together with the light streaming through the glass wall.

For over 25 years, Snøhetta has designed some of the world's most notable public and cultural projects. Snøhetta kick-started its career in 1989 with the competition-winning entry for the new library of Alexandria, Egypt. Among its many recognitions, Snøhetta received the World Architecture Award for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the Aga Kahn Prize for Architecture for the Alexandria Library.