Client
Agder County Municipality
Area
Approximately 12m² BRA
Function
Day trip cabin, prototype
In 2021, Agder County Municipality arranged a limited planning and design competition for a day trip cabin in collaboration with Sparebankstiftelsen SR-bank. Seven architectural companies participated in the competition.
The purpose of the day trip cabin project is to create attractive destinations in the local area that could contribute to more outdoor life, physical activity and better public health. The programme required a simple standard; however, the day trip cabin was to be an attraction in itself. The goal is to construct day trip cabins in each of the 25 municipalities in the county by the end of 2024.
The competition draft was to show a prototype suited for placement on very different plots, by the coast as well as in the forest and in the mountains. The programme set a limitation as to size and maximum cost, and the cabins were to be prefabricated in sections for helicopter transport. The transport requirement set a limit as to maximum size and weight of the sections.
Our draft KVIKKLUNSJ shows the day trip cabin with a recognisable, conceivable form reflecting the function: to provide shelter for people on a day trip; a form adapted to the different plots, and which can be a symbol or "sign" of an important and unifying public health initiative in Agder.
The form of the cabin tells a condensed story of arriving, entering and being – in the room, on the terrace and in the outdoor spaces which the cabin creates together with the landscape, vegetation and near and far views. The shape of the cabin "twists" because the walls lean inwards and protects the entrance area, then lean outwards in the sitting area, opening for a view of the terrain.
The cabin is designed to be prefabricated in three sections, with a wooden carrying system outwardly clad with wood shavings, inwardly with veneered panels. The sections can be transported by helicopter for mounting on a built-in-place pile foundation.
