Eldhús
A contemporary hearth as a landscape experience
Our design for this Iceland ski cabin proposes architecture as an opportunity to create new forms of storytelling, basing its concept on the natural shapes of the ground, the hill, the crater, and the fire that once inspired fabulous tales. The Icelandic folklore has its roots in the particularity of the country’s suggestive scenery, and respect and fascination for landscape are still part of the people’s mentality and narrative of flourishing environments and are crucial in the pursuit of a rising sustainable conscience and sensibility.
Inspired by the traditional turf house, the indoor spaces are underground. The walls, rather than separating oneself from the landscape, create a feeling of embrace. At the center of the main room rises a fireplace that is erected from the roof of the cabin, creating a landmark that attracts the sight during both day and night.
The ground
The ground is the starting point of any built environment. For Eldhús, it becomes an imitation of the surrounding landscape’s curves to create a living hill, a living architecture from in and out.
The hill
Up on the hill, the sights of the territory are richer. Here, the viewing deck allows the experience of nature in its radical form, simply by welcoming the wind, the sun, and the snow, directly on the skin.
The crator
In an attempt to minimize the contextual impact of the ski cabin, the carving of the hill recalls the itself violent natural event of crater formation. The void created becomes a repair from natural elements, a lair, an intuitive refugee that softens the crater’s roughness.
The fire
In the heart of the crater burns a fire, an element that becomes entirely part of the architecture and its experience. Around the fire, people gather to share and create stories before heading back to the slopes, forming their little own shelter in the supremacy of nature.
More than just a space sharing, the ski cabin thus becomes a space of being. In this way, Eldhús acts like a lighthouse guiding its guests into a space of cultivation of landscape sensitivity where new sagas are awaiting to arise.
Iceland Ski Cabin
A contemporary hearth as a landscape experience
CodeISCProgramSki cabinDimension220 sqmPlaceMyvatan (Iceland)Year2024DesignPlaCDesign teamDavide Barreri, Ilaria, Ariolfo, Andrea Alessio, Marta Grignani, Alberto De Virgiliis, Cara Geldenhuys, Frederique GelinasStatusCompetition
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