Style of Design

As we already published the Aurland Look out project by Todd Saunders & Tommie Wilhelmsen, we are featuring now the public toilets included on that amazing wooden platform.

More pictures and drawings after the break.

From the Look out text:

“The architecture of the public toilet is opposite of the lookout. While the lookout is light looking the pubic toilet is black painted concrete that is more heavy and solid in appearance. The building is pushed slightly over the edge. The gives it drama yet also creates a facade that is inaccessible to the public. People can look out to the great view from inside the toilets, but no one can look in.”

Located on the West Coast of the Bergen archipelago in Norway, Villa Storingavika is one of the most strikingly beautiful structure clad in glass, black stained wood and oiled natural wood. The rocky hillside, the green garden and the wonderful view of blue waters makes this home a complete delight. Constructed with an attempt to utilize the available space to a maximum by Saunders Architecture, the two floors of the building are styled to face the rough Norwegian weather. The interiors are shaped to match the exterior design and the shower with a glass view is one feature that you will not really find far too often anywhere else in the world! 

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Villa Storingavika in Norway, a Stunning View

Architect: Saunders Architecture
Location: Bergen, Norway
Principal Architect: Todd Saunders
Project Team: Geneviéve Charbonneau & Joakim Skajaa
Client: Eli Bakke Sem Olsen & Jan Sem Olsen
Project year: 2008
Photographs: Saunders Architecture

This family dwelling is located on one of Bergen’s most attractive sites, overlooking the southern fjords and the West coast archipelago. The site comprises a rocky outcrop together with some garden space, and as this is a very small site, the intention of the design was to have just as much outside space left at the end as when we started. To achieve this we constructed a 10 cm contour map of the site, allowing us to create a perfect fit between the terrain and the proposed structure.

The main part of the house is laid out over two floors, with the main entrance leading directly into the upper floor from the rear. The house itself forms a long thin structure with a cantilevered balcony at one side, extending 6 m and resting on 3 steel poles. The main façade of the house faces south to the ocean while the balcony offers stunning views to the south and west. The balcony is covered to provide protection from the worst of the Bergen weather, while a band, extruding 60 cm, runs along the main part of the house to give protection from the sun. This feature, running in a continuous line, also lends a stylish graphic to the house. The upper floor is to be used by the parents and the lower floor by their two children when home from university. The lower floor also contains a small (35 m2) guest studio.

Three main construction materials have been used for this project: glass, black stained wood and oiled natural wood. Together, these materials are strong in form, yet simple, and contribute to lowering the impact of the residence on the landscape, which is an important consideration on this delicate coastal site. A good amount of steel has also been used in the construction to allow the creation of large spans as well as the cantilevered balcony. The house is clad in black stained wood, with natural wood between the window partitions. For the bathroom, the absence of any adjacent houses allowed the exclusive use of glass for exterior construction, providing a shower with a view.

Space was a prime consideration for this project and the end result is greater than the sum of the parts, with the design generating more space than we started with. With the two-tier configuration for the site, significant open space on the upper tier is connected by steps leading down to another open area in front of the main façade of the house. In addition to careful positioning of the house on the site, we have incorporated design elements to reclaim as much outside space as possible.

Architect: Todd Saunders & Tommie Wilhelmsen
Location: Aurland, Norway
Client: The Norwegian Highways Department
Technical Advisors: Node AS, Bergen
Contractor: Veidekke AS, Sogndal
Road Engineer: Asplan Viak
Project year: 2005
Photographs: Todd Saunders

Some Facts about the Project and Process…

The site is above Aurland, a small town in Sogn og Fjordane, one of the larger fjords on the West Coast of Norway. Aurland is three hours drive from Bergen, Norway’s second largest city. We were one of three architecture firms invited to deliver a design proposal for this site. After winning we worked on detail drawings for the project together with Node Engineers, Bergen. The project was built in Fall 2005 and was officially opened in June 2006.

The place has attracted people from all over the world. We called our competition entry «640m over Aurland and 20120 km from Tokyo», keeping in mind the uniqueness of the place in the bigger picture.

The Place – the nature

Nature first and architecture second was the guiding principal when we sat down to design this project. It was immediately obvious to us that in such beautiful surroundings one must make the least possible encroachment in the existing landscape and terrain. The landscape is so fantastic that it is difficult to improve the place, but at the same time very easy to destroy the atmosphere by inserting too many elements into the site. Even though we have chosen an expressive form, the concept is a form of minimalism, in an attempt to conserve and complement the existing nature.

Organization

Today there are many people stopping at this site to enjoy the phenomenal views over the fjords. At times the areas gets filled with cars and tour busses. One of the first things we decided to do was to form a small parking area for 2 buses and 10 cars further up the road to help keep the place pure and not to disturb the look out. The construction is a bridge that one can go out onto, as a structure in the air. The structure is 4 m wide, 30 long, and 9m high out at the very end.

The Horizon and Dramatization

To make the situation even more dramatic it was important for us to create the experience of leaving the mountainside. We wanted people to come out in the air. The construction creates a distinct horizon; a bridge in the open room of this large fjord. It is imperative that the landscape and the vegetation not altered, but are protected so that one came come out from the landscape and experience it from new standpoint.

We have managed to behold all of the large pine trees on the site. This allows us to create an interaction between the structure and nature. One can walk out into the air through the treetops, helping dramatise the experience of nature and the larger landscape room.