Hammerfest Hiking Cabins

The brilliance of nature’s designs inspires architecture like Calatrava’s bird-themed World Trade Center Oculus and the blooming floral Lotus temple in New Dehli. And now something as humble as a hikers’ shelter in northern Norway is taking the angular tortoise-shell approach to keeping the elements out. The Hammerfest Hiking Cabins were created in response to an invitation from a Norwegian hiking association called Hammerfest go Omegn Turlaf to design two shelters on adjacent mountain peaks for hikers in need of some respite from the trail. SPINN Architecture designed the textured cabins that use solid timber panels and screwed dowel connections for easy assembly. The design eschews complex building techniques and allows the cabins to be built off-site and then transported as one piece. The brilliance of its rounded shape keeps snow away from the entrance and keeps structural rigidity, while simultaneously providing a beautiful structure that keeps in stride with the resplendent beauty of the natural surroundings. The first cabin was finished in the summer of 2018, and the second will round out the project this year.