explore juvet landscape hotel, the real-life norwegian retreat in succession's latest episode

that striking norwegian retreat in succession? yes, it’s real!

HBO hit show Succession has taken its audience on trips to Hungary, the Scottish Highlands, and Tuscany in its previous four seasons. The latest episode, ‘Kill List,’ showcases intense negotiations between GoJo and Waystar CEOs, as Shiv Roy makes strategic moves behind her siblings’ backs, all amidst the stunning natural backdrop of Norway’s Valldal Valley. If you were wondering, the striking Norwegian retreat which appears in the episode and was deemed ‘too small’ for the Roys is a real place called Juvet Landscape Hotel, and interestingly, it’s not its first time appearing on film. Does the 2014 film Ex-Machina ring a bell?

The hotel is located in a natural reserve with dense vegetation and was designed by Jensen & Skodvin Architects, who seamlessly incorporated several log houses and spa units on stilts into the steep terrain. The project pays homage to traditional Norwegian ‘Stabbur’ farm storehouses and highlights the breathtaking beauty of Norway’s rugged and untamed landscape.

Lukas Mattson (Alexander Skarsgård) in front of the Juvet Landscape Hotel | image via @succession

the Juvet Landscape Hotel by Jensen & Skodvin Architects

Designed by Jensen & Skodvin Architects (find more here), the Juvet Landscape Hotel was constructed in two phases (2007-2010 and 2012-2013) after extensive negotiations with conservation authorities. The hotel now includes nine rooms and a separate spa building, each of which is elevated above the ground on steel rods with a diameter of 30mm.

The rooms are constructed as log houses using a minimalist architectural language, with only one type of log used for the floors, walls, and roof. While this creates a sense of monotony, it allows for more variation in other elements, such as window sizes. The windows are set directly into the log structure, providing interesting views of the surrounding environment, such as waterfalls, rivers, and mountaintops. To accommodate the varying height of the house throughout the year, the doors are designed without conventional hinges and instead, use a circular pole that rests in a hole in the floor and a corresponding hole in the roof. The door blade is a glass pane inserted into the circular vertical piece, which can be mounted and demounted from a specific geometric solution in the roof after the house has been erected.

the hotel is located within a natural reserve with dense vegetation | image via @juvetlandscapehotel

adding color and vibrancy to the interiors

The cuts in the walls, where glass panes are inserted, are painted with four different colors for each opening. These colors are chosen in collaboration with artist Knut Wold and are carefully selected to ensure that each color appears only once in each room. This creates a beautiful abstract flower garden effect that adds color and vibrancy to the interior, whether it’s during the lush summer season or the dark, colorless winters. This design element draws from the colorful and decorative tole painting tradition commonly found inside traditional Norwegian log houses.

the rooms are constructed as log houses using a minimalist architectural language | image via @juvetlandscapehotel

focusing on sustainability

The hotel currently has nine completed rooms, with the possibility of adding another nineteen rooms in the future, as per the master plan. Each room has a unique design that takes into account the local topography and vegetation to provide maximum privacy and the best possible views. Importantly, no rooms require blasting of rock or changing of the terrain, as they are carefully integrated into the existing topography.

‘Today’s concern for sustainability in architecture focuses almost excludingly on reduced energy consumption in production and operation. We think that conservation of topography is another aspect of sustainability which deserves attention. Standard building procedure requires the general destruction of the site to accommodate foundations and infrastructure before building can commence. Conserving the site is a way to respect the fact that nature precedes and most probably succeeds man.’ share the architects.

the hotel now includes nine rooms and a separate spa building | image via @juvetlandscapehotel