Contemporary cottage in Norway. A place of disconnection between the swamps and the forest

The cottage occupies a special place in contemporary Norwegian culture. A few generations ago most of the Norwegian people earned their living from agriculture, fishing or timber, trades that offered proximity to nature. In the contemporary, urbanized way of life, the cottage is a means of maintaining this closeness

The building is located in the middle of marshes, rocks adjacent to the sea and scattered vegetation of pine trees and junipers. An important consideration in the project was to avoid interfering with this surrounding land. The cottage is located 21 meters above sea level, and the distance from the sea is 100 meters. Some marshes have been reclaimed to prepare the construction phase, exposing the rocky base and thus helping to integrate the cottage with the soil

The structure rests on a concrete base and the main building is a brick house with exposed beams on three different levels. This underlines a connection between the inside of the cottage and the outside areas. The access point is on the western side of the lot, slightly lower than the cottage itself. From the west the cottage looks rather high, while from the east it looks lower and more suitable. The entrance to the main building is next to the annex and a common tunnel roof protects it from rain and wind

The customers themselves have done most of the construction work The exterior of the building is clad in spruce collected from the customer's forest. This untreated material fades quickly to a bright, silvery hue. The external details are minimized to ensure a uniform coating of the walls