Mountain Lodge on Sognefjorden

 Slideshow: a swimming pool, spa, cinema and games room will be hidden in the rock beneath the main cluster of buildings at this Norwegian hunting lodge and hotel by London architects Haptic.

 

A lounge, kitchen and library will be accommodated in five buildings surrounding an open courtyard, oriented so they each look out onto a different view of the surrounding forest or Norway’s largest fjord.

A lower-level cut into the mountain will house the additional facilities for guests, including spa and treatment rooms, a gymnasium and a pool with a wall that partially exposes the surrounding rock.

Natural materials including timber cladding and raw stone will help root the buildings in their surroundings, while cutaway corners and openings offer different vistas.

Paths will lead from the lodge to eight private cabins nestled among the trees on the hillside that descends towards the fjord.

Haptic previously collaborated with Norwegian practice Narud Stokke Wiig on a proposal for an airport in the Arctic Circle. See all of our stories from Norway here.

Inspired by the traditional Norwegian Tun, the Mountain Lodge on Sognefjorden is formed by a collection of five buildings gathered around a central space. Each building houses its own function and is arranged to address particular views, from a dramatic panorama of the Fjord to a sampled view of the surrounding mountain landscape.

The central space acts as the primary gathering point and accommodates some of the key day-to-day activities. The reception and bar is located here, with a good overview of each living space; lounge, dining room, breakfast room, upper kitchen, library and meeting room.

At the lower floor, partially cut into the landscape, are further guest facilities; spa and treatment rooms, swimming pool, gymnasium, cinema and games room. The lower floor also facilitates the back-of-house operations with kitchen, storage, wine cellar and plant. This floor can be accessed separately from the valley floor whilst providing access to the forest walkways that leads on to the cabins.

Eight individual cabins form the private areas and are carefully sited in the hillside. The cabins are located along two walkway axes. Traversing down the mountain towards the Fjord, these routes create a sense of remoteness, with each cabin placed discreetly amongst the forest and maximising the spectacular views. Each L-shaped cabin is designed to be flexible, with two bedrooms and a central living space that can be used as one or two units with a maximum capacity of 32 guests.

A simple and natural palette of materials is proposed to harmonise with the stunning setting, where the forest meets the Fjord. The lodge buildings, clad externally and internally in timber, provide inherent warmth and character to each space.

These are carefully composed pitched forms, with simple yet bold glazed openings to take in views. In contrast, the lower floor is formed in natural stone, providing a heavy plinth on which the timber buildings rest. The natural rock is to be partially exposed, squarely cut to show its texture, colour and natural details. This is used to great effect in the swimming pool, where the exposed rock meets the built stonewall, separated by a light slot.

via: dezeen.com