Norwegian design practice Feste Landscape / Architecture recently completed the Soria Moria sauna, a sculptural, shingle-clad structure on Bandak Lake in Dalen, Norway that overlooks breathtaking mountain and water views. Developed as part of the ‘Tales of the Waterway’ art initiative for the Telemark Canal, Soria Moria is one in a series of projects that use art, architecture and lighting design to celebrate the natural beauty of the local landscape and traditions. In addition to the use of locally sourced building materials, the sauna features a wooden facade that’s integrated with gleaming golden shingles to reference local folklore.
Covering an area of roughly 420 square feet, Soria Moria consists of a covered seating area, a sauna, a changing room and pine decking. Feste Landscape / Architecture found that — unlike much of the area around the lake — the Sigurdsevja inlet offered deep enough water for bathing at the shoreline. As a result, Soria Moria was elevated on stilts along the inlet and is connected to the lakeshore to the west by a long, zigzagging boardwalk that also links to an existing network of footpaths around the lake.
The building takes on a striking, angular silhouette, which was inspired by the steep mountains that surround Bandak Lake. The dramatic mountains and lake are framed with massive panels of glass that blur the boundary between indoors and out. In keeping with the traditional vernacular, the structure is clad in Øyfjell Sag wood shingles that reference local building techniques. Gold-colored Nordic Royal metal shingles are also embedded into the facade to evoke the “mythical and outlandish.”
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“It also references the obvious contrast which arose between the uncultivated people of Telemark and lavish upper-class foreign travelers during the establishment of the nearby Dalen Hotel at the end of the 19th century,” the architects added. Completed this year, Soria Moria was developed by the Telemark Canal Regional Park in collaboration with Tokke municipality.
+ Feste Landscape / Architecture
Via ArchDaily
Photography by Dag Jenssen via Feste Landscape / Architecture
