snøhetta's floating 'starlodges' gaze at norway’s lysefjorden from panoramic windows

Snøhetta for ‘starlodges’ in norway

Norwegian architecture practice Snøhetta has unveiled the floating wooden cabin StarLodges that sit atop Norway’s Lysefjord, below the tranquil sea and between the jagged mountains. Snøhetta chose to work with wood and concrete as a reflection of the nature surrounding the building site which is dubbed to be dominated by granite and slow-growing pine trees. The materials the design team used were drawn from the actual site the wooden hotel architecture is positioned.

images courtesy of The Bolder

The trees that had to be taken down during the construction have been set aside to be repurposed for other parts of the projects, and the granite that has been cut out of the ground has been used to make the concrete for the construction. The recently unveiled StarLodges are all facing the fjord and mountains, giving guests a front-row seat to the raw nature and tranquility.

Guests are invited to relax while hovering over the renowned Lysefjord. There are three giant-sized wooden cabins that form StarLodges which all feature tall ceilings and large panoramic windows for the perfect vantage point. Curated brands and quality materials from Vipp and Eikund dot the space including the self-catered kitchen, and guests are more than welcome to go to sleep and wake up immediately immersed in nature.

Off-grid cabins designed with nature in mind

Tom Norland purchased 170 hectares of unspoiled land with an unobstructed view in 2010. Originally, he intended to construct a series of smaller hermit houses, but he ended up stashing away the blueprint, trading it for the natural preserve where StarLodges were built on.

With this brief, Norgeshus architect John Birger Grytdal conceived a two-story cube coated in Canadian cedar wood while balancing on a steel pillar dug 3.5 meters into the ground. The first two cottages are referred to as the Sky Lodges, while the recently unveiled ones are called StarLodges.

After ten years, Tom started the second phase of The Bolder project by hiring the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta to design four new one-room cabins. On the border of Lysefjorden, four StarLodges with the names Stylten, Myra, Stjerna, and Eldhuset have been thoroughly positioned. In total, six off-grid cabins float high above Norway’s Lysefjord.

The Bolder Sky Lodges and Star Lodges are fully equipped, compact accommodations that are as near to sleeping in the clouds as guests can ever get. A minimalistic design ethos with Vipp furniture and kitchen in natural and durable materials in earthy colors and organic textures welcome guests for an immersive experience to pull the peace of nature into the cabins.