Tag Archives: norwegian

This Norwegian Sauna Turns Reclaimed Timber Into a Ship-Inspired Waterfront Shelter

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Nineteen timber frames lean toward the harbor at Båtsfjord, Norway, giving Skroget the skeletal outline of a boat under construction. Designed and built by Rare Collectiv, a group of 15 students from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s Design in Context course, the completed project combines a community sauna with a public deck. Its name comes from the Norwegian word for hull.

The maritime reference gives the structure a fitting identity beside a working harbor. More interesting is what happens beneath those ribs. The framework establishes a rhythm along the waterfront, making a relatively small enclosed room part of a much longer outdoor space. The sauna is a destination within the architecture, rather than its entire reason for being.

Designer: Rare Collectiv

Stretching approximately 131 feet, or 40 meters, Skroget uses its angled timber portals to form a sloping roof over a southern walkway and seating area. Almost the entire structure uses reclaimed lumber sourced from a building dismantled by the local municipality. That gives the project a specific material connection to its surroundings, beyond the boatlike silhouette.

The long plan also establishes two different relationships with the site. Rare Collectiv describes an exposed waterside and a more protected, south-facing landward side, where the walls provide shelter from wind. The geometry therefore has a practical purpose: it creates somewhere to pause beside the harbor without leaving every seat equally exposed to it.

There’s restraint in that approach. An expressive structure can become scenery that offers little to the people standing underneath it. Here, the repeated frames organize circulation and places to sit. The boat reference remains legible, but the shelter gives it a useful job.

A continuous walkway connects the western entrance and fire pit with the sauna at the eastern end, passing changing rooms and showers between them. The arrangement avoids treating the building as a corridor that simply stops at a door. It gives the shared outdoor spaces an organizing role of their own.

The sauna itself occupies 15 square meters, approximately 161 square feet. Unlike the predominantly reclaimed structure around it, this enclosure uses new wooden elements, with a dark brown exterior and pale birch interior. Custom outdoor benches, tables, and chairs repeat the angular language of the larger frames.

That small room within a long public structure is Skroget’s most persuasive decision. The layout leaves room for different kinds of visits: a sauna session, a conversation, or a pause by the water. Its architectural generosity lies in giving those quieter, less programmed moments space alongside the main attraction.

The post This Norwegian Sauna Turns Reclaimed Timber Into a Ship-Inspired Waterfront Shelter first appeared on Yanko Design.

Norwegian-Style Summer House Encourages “Inside-Outside” Living, Offering An Escape From Urban Woes

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I’m always a fan of beautiful holiday homes that let you soak up the sun, and take a break from your urban worries. And, a cozy holiday home that seems perfect for a nature escape is the I/O cabin by studio Erling Berg. This holiday home has access to picturesque views of the ocean in Risør, on Norway’s southern coast. It is clad in locally sourced spruce and is elevated off the ground using wooden pillars.

Designer: Erling Berg

The I/O Cabin is subtly perched on a sloped terrain. The home consists of three volumes connected via a wooden deck, and smartly positioned to form an atrium that serves as the center of the space. This builds “inside-outside” spaces that perfectly suit the everchanging Norwegian climate. “As a summer house on the coast of Norway, the weather will change fast, often changing during the day, creating both inside and outside hours. Therefore, we wanted to create a house with easy access to its insides and outsides, with good circular and visual connection between the two elements,” said Erling Berg.

The three separate volumes are placed on the wooden deck, which floats above the property and is supported by cross-laminated timber beams. The beams also offer support to the cantilevered roof of the home. The shape and design of the roof were created to offer shade and shelter from the sun and to also allow light to stream into the central atrium. The roof provides protection from rain and extreme weather condition as well.

As you enter the I/O cabin, you are welcomed by the atrium which connects to the main living area, four bedrooms, and a shower. All the rooms are placed in a U-shape around the central space. The interiors of the home have a warm and welcoming vibe. The walls are clad in white painted horizontal wood siding, while the ceiling and the floors showcase white oiled source timber, which further enhances the natural aesthetic of the space – a design style that is commonly seen in traditional Norwegian coastal cabins.

“The materiality is both based on local, genuine materials and a traditional color palette that can be found in summer houses along the Norwegian coast from the 1950s and 60s,” said Berg. “[It is] a functional palette, merging the warmth of the wood textures with white painted panels, making the interior cool, yet warm and bright.”

The post Norwegian-Style Summer House Encourages “Inside-Outside” Living, Offering An Escape From Urban Woes first appeared on Yanko Design.