OVER VANNET, UNDER TRÆRNE

Fetsund (Norway), 2020
With the help of Ine Kjelgård and Johan Tørklep

The project takes inspiration from the Norwegian log cabins and barn typology to form a 160-meter long building, which aims to redefine a humble skyline under the canopies of the existing trees along Glomma river. This elongated, oversized stabbur appears as an addition to the Fetsund log booms constellation of wooden cabins and floating structures, hovering above the terrain to prevent the building from future potential floodings. Not unlike a linear Norwegian farm building, the construction is longitudinally divided in separate areas. Courtyards punctuate the visitor’s experience as they walk through the building, providing indirect sunlight for the various programs while allowing for the surrounding nature to penetrate inside of the building. The re-insertion of a wetland landscape within our project is meant to help illustrate and exhibit the surrounding ecosystem while building on a pre-existing pond on site. This will be the stage for a variety of landscape areas exploring the values of wetlands as a means to combat climate change, demonstrating at the same time the fauna and flora diversity of the larger Nordre Øyeren nature reserve.