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Prefab mountaintop cabin provides protection for hikers

A well-designed rest stop for weary trekkers

By Liz Stinson
A cabin with a geometric shape is on a mountaintop. Photo by Tor Even Mathisen via Designboom

Hiking into the Arctic Circle is exactly as cold as it sounds. To give trekkers a warm respite, the Norwegian Hiking Association (DNT) commissioned SPINN Arkitekter and Format Engineer to design a mountaintop hut in the small, scenic town of Hammerfest.

The interior of a mountaintop cabin with a door overlooking a vista during a brilliant sunset. The interior walls are wooden and have a geometric structure. Photo by Tor Even Mathisen via Designboom

The prefabricated wooden dome sits on the side of a mountain and blends in with its jagged surroundings. Its facade is built from 77 cross-laminated wood panels that fit together like a puzzle. To create a design that would withstand cold wind and heaps of snow, a drone mapped the site, surveying the mountaintop location to help the designers optimize the hut’s organic, egg-like shape.

A small wooden cabin with a geometric structure. The cabin is sitting on the edge of a mountain. There is a sunset in the sky. Photo by Tor Even Mathisen via Designboom

Multiple test huts were 3D printed and tested in a warehouse before the final product was partially fabricated and shipped shipped to the mountain where local volunteers finished off the construction.

Wood cabin on mountain under northern lights Photo by Tor Even Mathisen via Designboom

The panels, which can be seen on the side, create a cozy cocooned interior that includes wood floors, simple benches, a big picture window, and a wood burning stove for those below-zero nights.

Via: Designboom

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