Based on the limited budget and with two facades partly underground, we chose prefabricated concrete elements like the exterior building material. All facades, both over- and underground are made insulated concrete (Cellcrete) with a 50mm outer layer in pigmented concrete. Iron oxide is added to the concrete mix to create a distinct red colour. The slabs are exposed in the ceiling to make the structure readable.

The rational building system makes construction easier, permits simple detailing, and in turn a lower building cost. The visible joints between the prefabricated elements and the lines between the boards in the casting blend generates a characteristic pattern in the facades. Concrete elements are repeated in order to reuse the formwork for several elements. The repetitive system of separate elements enables the potential reuse of the building materials in the future.

Wood is often the chosen construction material in projects with high sustainability ambition. However, when we look back at historical buildings of high quality, they have often constructed in stone or concrete – hard and robust materials that are built to last. In the project at Lillehammer we wanted to investigate how to build a house that can absorb the evolution of use as a new hypothesis for a sustainable architecture. It is a house that is built to last by adaption or re-appropriation.

The inner walls are independent of the load-bearing system, which means that the plan can be reconfigured. The house can easily be adapted to future residents or changing needs. The interior of the kitchen and living room is clad in knot-free pine, both on walls and in the ceiling. As for the rest of the house, the concrete slabs are exposed in the ceiling. The floors are covered with standard cement screed. Furniture in pine plywood is built on site.

The combination of a rational and repetitive building system and the substantial effort from the clients resulted in a very low building cost. Through their own efforts in the building period, the owners of the house have gained substantial knowledge about their own house and they feel strong ownership of both the process and the end result.

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Organised on two levels adapting to the terrain, the plan is compact, providing generous social spaces within a limited floor area. The upper level is comprised of smaller scale bedrooms and family rooms, whereas the lower level is a large gallery-like space structured around a stone hearth.

Completed in linseed oil painted pine with untreated birch skirting, frames and reveals – the interior is kept subtle with a character of being hand-built – promoting tactile qualities and the attractive patina developed over time.

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A result of the construction principle was three floors with quite different qualities. The ground floor is a simple masonry room with concrete floor. The room has direct access from the lawn, and is used for heavy tools, lawn mower etc. The second floor is for storage, and the third floor is a small workshop. The workshop gets daylight through a transparent fiberglass roof.
The interior fixtures and fittings are attached to the framework, not touching the brick wall. Adjustable shelves and benches are made of wood. The semicircular staircase is made of steel. A pivot hinged wooden door follows the bond and curve of the brick wall. All wood is Norwegian pine, treated with a mixture of tar, linseed oil and turpentine.

The program and use of the private library had a strong force in itself – a force that made me search for a silent and humble architecture. The pragmatic program of the garden shed, and maybe a lack of respect for the things to be housed, became an inspiration to constructive vitality and expression. The question whether the attitudes in these two projects could have been inverted will always be a fascinating thought to me.

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The sauna offers two entrances: the first, featuring a sloping ramp, ensures accessibility and leads to a boardwalk extending the hangout space. The second entrance serves as the primary axis, treating visitors to a breathtaking view of the glacier, creating a sense of anticipation and awe. This central axis functions as the main circulation route, connecting various spaces.

The sauna room embraces timeless Finnish sauna traditions, accommodating up to twelve visitors with strategically placed windows framing picturesque glacier views. Cork is integrated into the sauna’s design, providing soft and insulating backrests, enhancing the space’s texture and character. A small hangout area offers a space to cool down and enjoy views while remaining protected from the elements. The changing room, though exposed, provides a fully enclosed space with benches and shelves. The floor, adorned with stones emerging organically, seamlessly follows the landscape’s contours, reinforcing integration with the environment.

Constructed from sustainable, locally sourced materials such as spruce and stones from the surroundings, Sauna Svartisen pays homage to traditional Norwegian preservation techniques. The building’s finish, a blend of linseed oil, tar, and charcoal, adds to its unique character and commitment to environmentally conscious design. In essence, Sauna Svartisen is not just a place to experience the traditional Finnish sauna; it is an architectural masterpiece that respects, enhances, and becomes one with the Arctic wilderness.

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The production and assembly of the timber elements for the building drew on the collective knowledge of the involved carpenters, joiners, and suppliers. In the production, each of the 12.000+ individual oak off-cuts from Dinesen’s floor production were pre-cut to size with minimal waste, pre-drilled, and pre-treated with tar at our carpentry before being transported to the site. In the assembly of the facade on site, each individual oak element required precise handling and 20 000+ stainless steel screws for fastening, reinforcing the robust, assembled and layered character of the cladding.

The resulting building negotiates a landscape of rocks, lichen, ferns, conifers and deciduous trees on a bluff, facing the sea of Skagerrak on the south-eastern coast of Norway. Avoiding reshaping the terrain, the building is meticulously adapted to the north-east sloping ground, forming three volumes that are situated on five different levels. Outside, the three volumes create two distinct spaces separated by an openable wind-barrier: a courtyard towards the forest that is protected from the wind and an open deck towards the sea which holds views through an existing pruned “window-band” in the conifers.

Inside, each space has a distinct volume and ceiling height, with the central hallway giving clear views through the whole house and the windows, stretching the full length of the facade towards the sea, bringing unity and coherence to the different levels. Where the exterior oak cladding will turn silvery-grey over time and blend in with the slate and granite landscape, the interior Douglas cladding is kept in a slightly warmer, whitish hue, balanced by the neutral screed floors.

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Commissioned in 2002, the stilted intervention is part of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s effort to inspire increased tourism in the isolated region. Since 1994, the administration has opened 18 routes that meander through Norway’s breathtaking fjords, coastlines and waterfalls.Zumthor’s museum is one of several commissioned architectural projects along the trails. Among these is his and Louise Bourgeois’ Steilneset Memorial, which poetically commemorates the 91 victims of the 17th-century witch trials. Zumthor’s four buildings include a small museum, a cafe, a shelter and a service building, each offering a different view of the isolated landscape. Both the museum and the café stand tall over the precipitous landscape, balanced on a grid of timber supports. Nearby, the service building perches along the side of a large stone wall.

These buildings occupy a once-booming zinc mine operation. The Allmannajuvet mine began operations in 1881, closing after only 18 years due to the ore’s changing prices and high extraction costs. Though its main visitors are now hikers on the trail, the mine originally boasted over 160 employees and was a critical locus for zinc exports. “It’s incredibly remote, it’s modest and you can see that the people were poor,” explained Zumthor, speaking to Icon. “The working conditions must have been terrible. You cannot stand upright in the tunnels; you have to go miles into the mountain, where it’s cold in summer and winter. So it gave us the idea to be modest in everything we did. Not poor, but modest.”

Through materials and design alone, Zumthor honors the site’s industrial heritage. The exposed structural timber framework and corrugated metal roofs of the buildings are in dialogue with the infrastructure of mining operations as well as the surrounding rugged terrain.The intimate relationship with history through the careful choices of site, material and form is typical of Zumthor’s work. Allmannajuvet is no exception, powerfully recalling the site’s industrial heritage. Paying close attention to both materials and construction, the work harnesses both past and present, quoting the site’s industrial history through distinctively post-industrial design.

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Old flooring was carefully removed, supporting beams adjusted and straightened, before the original fir floorboards once again were layed, sanded and soap-treated.
Half-walls and central wall which defines stair, runs through the ceiling and becomes loft railing, in Black Alder, deep in tone and structure thus connecting with the darkened wooden beams in ceiling and loft. Loft area left mostly untouched due, leaving this area to later be defined and refined when the family has grown older and might have developed specific needs – until then a great play-room for the kids.

Kitchen is composed of a a black steel frame, burnt with linseed oil to blacken and coat, and valchromat fronts. It was, in combination with the fir room-divider/tall cabinet and other furniture designed, drawn and built for the renovation.

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The main floor is a concrete construction with three different levels adapting to the terrain. The concrete base, and the big wooden windows in front, support the second floor; a triangular shaped volume of cross laminated timber wrapped in black roofing felt. The interior is characterized by the raw concrete walls, the polished concrete floor, the wooden windows and the 2.nd store all made in Norwegian pine. The furnishing is made out of Norwegian birch. Gutter and other outdoor details are made in untreated copper, and will darken with time. The cabin has a sheltering atmosphere with its protective back wall in concrete and its open glass facade facing the fjord.

Text provided by the architect.