Snøhetta’s Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre Pavilion was Inspired by the Robust Landscape

Norway is perhaps best known for its coastal <a href="http://inhabitat.com/rolling-hotel-travels-through-the-norwegian-fjords/">fjords</a>, but the northern landscape has much to offer in its interior as well. Architecture firm <a href="http://www.snoarc.no/#/projects/239/true/all/image/1286/">Snøhetta</a> took the opportunity to design a robust but gentle building for visitors to immerse themselves in the Dovre Mountain plateau, home to musk oxen, arctic foxes and reindeer herds which roam amid a rich variety of plants and killer views. The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/gorgeous-glass-visitors-center-rises-at-the-foot-of-troll-wall-cliff-in-norway/">pavilion</a> is elemental in its use of a steel skin, glass walls and an extraordinary wood core which reads almost like a topographical map.

"The Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre Pavilion is located at Hjerkinn on the outskirts of Dovrefjell National Park, overlooking the mountain Snøhetta. "

"The building design is based on a contrast between ideas - a rigid outer shell and a soft, organic inner core. The wooden core is shaped like rock or ice that has been eroded by natural forces like wind and running water, and is placed within a rectangular frame of raw steel and glass."

Norway is perhaps best known for its coastal <a href="http://inhabitat.com/rolling-hotel-travels-through-the-norwegian-fjords/">fjords</a>, but the northern landscape has much to offer in its interior as well. Architecture firm <a href="http://www.snoarc.no/#/projects/239/true/all/image/1286/">Snøhetta</a> took the opportunity to design a robust but gentle building for visitors to immerse themselves in the Dovre Mountain plateau, home to musk oxen, arctic foxes and reindeer herds which roam amid a rich variety of plants and killer views. The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/gorgeous-glass-visitors-center-rises-at-the-foot-of-troll-wall-cliff-in-norway/">pavilion</a> is elemental in its use of a steel skin, glass walls and an extraordinary wood core which reads almost like a topographical map.

The pavilion was commissioned by the <a href="http://www.villrein.no/en/NorwegianWildReindeerCentre/tabid/7107/Default.aspx">Norwegian Wild Reindeer Foundation</a> to allow visitors to behold the range of the reindeer.

Snøhetta's design for the center may have taken a cue from the Norwegian National Tourist Routes Project, which placed a series of <a href="http://www.turistveg.no/eKatalog/Nasjonale_turistveger2010.html#/1/">Architectural refuges</a> throughout the country.

The pavilion is designed to withstand the harsh elements with a steel encasing protecting its wooden core.

A bank of windows overlooks the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sn%C3%B8hetta"> Snøhetta Mountain</a> from Tverrfjellet, a plateau at the elevation of 1,200 meters.

The mythical landscape is reflected in part by a tremendous <a href="http://inhabitat.com/off-grid-hill-plain-house-showcases-raw-material-in-a-sophisticated-way/the-hill-plain-house-by-wolveridge-architects-2-2/?extend=1">wooden wall</a> inserted into the core of the pavilion.

The wall looks as though it is deeply weathered, eroded by eons of wind and water. A bump out provides seating next to a suspended indoor fireplace, and the exterior has a similar seating arrangement.

The 25 cm square beams were then stacked and secured with wooden pegs to create the undulating effect.

The glass wall of the visitors pavilion.

Snohetta Tverrfjellhytta Norwegian Wild Reindeer Pavilion.

Snohetta Tverrfjellhytta Norwegian Wild Reindeer Pavilion.