Tverrfjellhytta / Snøhetta

Nov 2011

Uploaded by Christopher Henry — Filed under: Cultural ,Featured ,Landscape ,Selected , Hjerkinn, Norway, Snohetta

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Architect: Snøhetta Oslo AS
Location: Hjerkinn, Dovre Municipality, Norway
Project Team: Knut Bjørgum landscape architect (Design Team Leader), Kjetil T. Thorsen (Partner in charge, Principal architect), Erik Brett Jacobsen, Margit Tidemand Ruud, Rune Grasdal, Martin Brunner (Architects) Heidi Pettersvold.(Interior Architect)
Project Area: 900 sqf
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Ketil Jacobsen and diephotodesigner.de

The Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre Pavilion is located at Hjerkinn on the outskirts of Dovrefjell National Park, overlooking the Snøhetta mountain massif. The 90m2 building is open to the public and serves as an observation pavilion for the Wild Reindeer Foundation educational programmes. A 1,5km nature path brings visitors to this spectacular site, 1200 meters above sea level.

elevations

Background
Dovrefjell is a mountain range that forms a barrier between the norther and southern parts of Norway. It is home to Europe’s last wild reindeer herds and is the natural habitat for many rare plants and animals. A long history filled with travellers, hunting traditions, mining, and military activities has left its mark on this land. In addition to the natural and cultural landscape, the Dovre mountains also holds significant importance in the Norwegian consciousness. National legends, myths, poetry (Ibsen) and music (Grieg) celebrate the mystic and eternal qualities of this powerful place. The founding fathers of the Norwegian constitution are ”agreed and faithful, until the fall of Dovre!”

plan

Architectural idea
This unique natural, cultural and mythical landscape has formed the basis of the architectural idea. The building design is based on a rigid outer shell and an organic inner core. The south facing exterior wall and the interior create a protected and warm gathering place, while still preserving the visitor’s view of the spectacular panorama.

Considerable emphasis is put on the quality and durability of the materials to withstand the harsh climate. The rectangular frame is made in raw steel resembling the iron found in the local bedrock. The simple form and use of natural materials reference local building traditions. However, advanced technologies have been utilized both in the design and the fabrication process. Using digital 3D-models to drive the milling machines, Norwegian shipbuilders in Hardangerfjord created the organic shape from 10 inch square pine timber beams. The wood was then assembled in a traditional way using only wood pegs as fasteners. The exterior wall has been treated with pine tar while the interior wood has been oiled. The pavilion is a robust yet nuanced building that gives visitors an opportunity to reflect and contemplate this vast and rich landscape.

Text provided by Snøhetta Oslo AS.

Client: Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre
Interior and Landscape Architect: Snøhetta Oslo AS
Structural Engineer: Dr.Techn. Kristoffer Apeland AS, Trond Gundersen
Cost: 4,0 mill. NOK (Total construction cost pavilion)
Main contractor: Prebygg AS
Subcontractor, steel: Lonbakken AS
Subcontractor, glass: Skandinaviska Glassystem AB
Contractor, wood: Djupevaag Ship Builders AS

: © diephotodesigner.de

: © diephotodesigner.de

: © Ketil Jacobsen

: © Ketil Jacobsen

: © Ketil Jacobsen

: © Ketil Jacobsen

: © Ketil Jacobsen

: elevations

: plan

: typical section

* Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.

Cite:
Henry , Christopher . "Tverrfjellhytta / Snøhetta" 02 Nov 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 22 Feb 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/180932>

Comments (15)
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Links to this entry (9)

martin says:

Extraordinary beautiful.. one of the few projects that show the potential of digital techniques in architecture.

Inspiring!

# November 2, 2011 at 16:52

Tati says:

finally, Zaha is trapped

# November 2, 2011 at 17:12

MikeBond says:

Never seen wood crafted so organically before. It is almost liquid…Beautiful…
Imo, most of Hadid’s works are just random shapes, misplaced and cold. Form for the sake of form.
But this…this work radiates warmth even from pictures…authors took the use of wood in architecture to another level. And just look how it speaks with the landscape! It is totally there, harmoniously relating with the surrounding nature. Right place, right architecture.
Stung project! Wish, one day I could create something as beautiful, as this peace of art.

# November 2, 2011 at 18:02

Khatchatour says:

Couldn’t agree more. Hadid and Gehry should look at this project very closely, for here is an example of non-Euclidian geometry that is poetic, that is organic to the artistic intent, that is a means to an end.
Gehry’s and Hadid’s handiwork – architecture as a pursuit of the interesting and the unusual – is a dead end: in today’s world the novelty factor’s half life is ten seconds…

# November 3, 2011 at 14:25

rob.i says:

this little box… so powerful!

# November 2, 2011 at 18:53

re_novate says:

it’s not a box. it’s out of box!

# November 3, 2011 at 07:06

Randy says:

Poetry in wood!

# November 3, 2011 at 01:04

marc says:

This is the most beautiful piece of architecture I have ever seen!!!!! It’s majestic and so spiritual! Thank you Snohetta!

# November 3, 2011 at 03:29

Barry says:

Agreed. Wow!

# November 3, 2011 at 23:40

stefan van der Ende says:

As a sculptor I say , absolutely beautifull and a very strong statement in this amazing landscape . briljant .

# November 3, 2011 at 04:09

luo wanmei says:

像看舞台剧一样欣赏外面的风景，这是一个可以给我思考的空间。

# November 3, 2011 at 07:32

Paul says:

Snohetta cannot fail, I have literally never seen a project by them I was not totally entranced by.

# November 3, 2011 at 11:00

Nuno says:

Sublime!! Congratulations!

# November 3, 2011 at 11:01

Asbjørn says:

As a shape it is a beautiful piece of art: the steel construction is right, but as a wood construction it didn´t charm me. Snøhetta have had a boat building company cut the shape in a CNC machine. It didn´t strike me as the right way to do it. Instead it strengthened my view that more and more architects are getting better at making complex, beautiful shapes in a computer, but less familiar with the way material works and the way they are made into a construction. It´s blobitecture.

Visually, this piece is is stunning, and the building offered a stunning frame, to the Snøhetta mountain. However I felt the tectonics of the wood construction was completely wrong, and when adding how the exposed wood will suffer from this construction in only a few seasons, I felt that the concept of ‘firmitas’ has been ignored.

# November 6, 2011 at 07:00

Mariana says: