Vega Cottage, designed by Swedish architects, Kolman Boye, is dwelling acutely in tune with its sublime surroundings. Nestled on the island of Vega in the Norwegian archipelago, and based on the traditional Norwegian fishermen huts (called Naust) it is a lesson in non-invasive architecture.
Built for siblings to revisit their childhood place of solace, the interior in linseed oil painted pine and birch is a glowing den, as pure as its organic surrounds. Generous windows frame magnificently wild vistas of weather-beaten shrubs and craggy granite mountains.
With respect and restraint the landscape’s new guest does not disturb the bedrock. Instead, visitors must arrive by a natural ravine open to the elements, its dialogue never static. As the happy occupants state, “The access should be a process. Walking up to the building prepares you for the environment and adapts you to it.”
This kind of retreat is meditative to the point of religious, a simple place of worship to the most beautiful divinity, ‘Mother Nature’.
Credits: Kolman Boye