-
Architects: Rintala Eggertsson Architects, Studio NN
- Area: 80 m²
- Year: 2021
-
Photographs:Sami Rintala, Navid Navid, Harald Seljesæter
Text description provided by the architects. Along the coast of northern Norway lies the island of Kalsholmen: a barren rock in the vast ocean, with a small, white lighthouse at its top. In 1917, a storm destroyed the first lighthouse that was situated on the neighboring island. Following this tragedy, a new lighthouse was built in 1919 on Kalsholmen. Automated and depopulated in 1993, today the lighthouse only welcomes the occasional visitor if the weather allows.
The safe house consists of four sleeping shelters and one sauna, all connected to form one protected space at the center. This space seeks to create a safe and comfortable microclimate on the exposed island by staying low and hugging the ground to keep from being blown away by the winter storms but is pulled up just high enough to keep it from being swept away by the high tides. The construction is simple, consisting of only 2x3 and 2x8 wooden members. It is easy to maintain - and over time will turn grey and blend in with the surrounding bedrock. Being built entirely of solid wood it does not introduce any unsustainable materials to the island. Altogether the project seeks to leave as small a footprint as possible - both physically and visually.
The project was developed in a 2+2 week design and build workshop in collaboration with Studio NN in the early summer of 2021. Through a wholehearted on-site design process, not a single sketch was drawn. All decisions made were based on physical experiences on-site and all sizes studied in 1:1. On an island without water or electricity, the project offers a place to sleep, cook, and keep warm around the fire, all while being accompanied by the many turns and ever-fluctuating moments of the ocean. With over 20 km to the nearest mainland, the view from the island offers no traces of human interventions.
