The project is located in Kleivan, north of the Polar Circle, in an archipelago formed by an 1100 m high wall of mountains and cliffs that stretches 250 kms. into the North Sea.
The site is on a quay containing three existing buildings: a fisherman’s cottage, a cod liver oil production building, and a cod salting building all of which were part of a now abandoned fishing village.
These buildings date back to the early 1900s and are protected as they are the remains of a form of life prevalent in this region which has ceased to exist. The three existing buildings will be renovated as to provide the accommodation for the Art and Culture Production Centre.
The task of the studio was to provide plans for the renovation of the three existing buildings and to design and build the exterior facilities and a new sauna (The Bands). The site as SCS found it, in its semi-derelict state, was extremely beautiful and haunting. One of SCS’s major design preoccupations was that any intervention should merely ‘tiptoe’ on the site, not imposing on it. ‘The Bands’ met this design requirement as it can be seen both as strips of fabric resting delicately on the craggy pier, as well as echoing the wider Lofoten landscape, where extensive horizontals defined by the North Sea and fjords are violently interrupted by jagged, tall mountains, surely aroused by Aigaios to disturb the horizon. The interior accommodation consists of a changing room which leads to the sauna that contains the wood-burning-stove, seats, and a shower.
The sauna affords views of the fjord and the mountains beyond. Its floor is designed in such a way that water can be splashed on to it and it drains between the floor boards onto galvanised metal sheets below, that take it away from the under-building.
The outdoor facilities consist of a small terrace with a cold-dip-pool from which you enter the sauna. On the other side there is a dining table for 20 with BBQ trays, sunning terraces which step down to the fjord, and a fish cleaning table for the cod catch.
The Scarcity and Creativity Studio (SCS) is a graduate design and build studio within the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) whose focus is on ‘translations from drawing to building’.
The studio’s aim is to expose students to the full architectural process, from interacting with the clients to building their designs. SCS seeks challenging contexts in which local conditions and creativity are employed to make the most of scarce resources.
Material Used:
Facade cladding: Siberian Larch
Flooring: Pine
Doors: Pine
Windows: Pine, made on site
Roofing: Recycled galvanized corrugated metal sheets
Interior furniture: Pine, made on site
