Rustic Cabins Comprise This Impossibly Idyllic Hotel in Norway
When Dwell visited in late June, snow still capped nearby peaks. Rushing waterfalls streaked the steep slopes. A glacier-blue river cut through jewel-green pastures. And minimalist cabins provided elegant shelter and at the same time engendered a remarkable communion with the sublime natural environment.
The minimalist design of the Juvet's rooms bring guests into close contact with the Valldola River and the sublime valley beyond it.
Now in addition to its original collection of seven cabins completed in 2010, the Juvet added two new "birds nests" in 2014. Though in an entirely new style, these new loft-like structures possess the same aesthetic rigor and harmonious integration with the natural surroundings as their predecessors.
Designed by Jensen & Skovdin, the Juvet's first-generation cabins are built on stilts in order to impact the environment as little as possible. Despite the modernist aesthetic, the buildings were built by local craftsmen using traditional materials and techniques.
The Juvet is tucked into the woodsy corner of a classic Norwegian farm on the banks of the rushing Valldola River. The farm has existed here since at least the 1500s.
The two new cabins, also by Jensen & Skodvin Architects, are built on a steep hillside. They are held aloft by narrow steel rods and clad in a lumber stained to blend into the natural surroundings.
Windows are punctuate the façades of the new cabins at unexpected but strategic locations in order to frame and maximize views.
The new cabins' pine interiors have been left their natural shade. Furnishings are kept to the absolute minimum to keep guests' focus on what lies outside.
The walls of the original cabins are painted with black-pigmented oil to minimize reflections in the floor-to-ceiling windows—enhancing the sense of connection with the exterior scene.
The hotel's spa space is set right into the banks on the rushing Valldola. The turf roof seems like a contemporary conceit but in fact is a reference to ancient Scandinavian tradition of sod roofs.