PAN-CABINS || Treetop Cabins Nestled Amongst Nature Inspired by Nordic Folklore and Fire Towers
Set high above the ground, the 2 PAN Cabins offer a quiet refuge from the city, not to mention also a calming view of the surrounding forest.
Designed by Architect and Professor Espen Surnevik, the pair of PAN Cabins are located inside of the Finnskogen (Finlandian-forests) in Norway, a boreal forest brimming with wildlife. Situated in the eastern region of Norway and close to the Swedish border, the cabins are just 8km from the national highway 2 and 9km from the town of Flisa, just a short drive from the city.
The two PAN Cabins elevated above ground for a view of the surrounding landscape
THE CONCEPT
The area where the cabins are located in is a large forest property owned by Professor Surnevik’s clients. The area carries historical significance in that it was where people from Finland immigrated during the sixteenth century and settled, thereby creating a pan-Nordic culture with intriguing mixed traditions.
This led Professor Surnevik to dive into the Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson’s work. Though Janssons is most famous for her creation of the Mu’mmins, her text and drawings define a whole mythology. “For me, it represents a genuine feeling of how the Nordic individual relates to the long distances between settlements in rural Scandinavia,” Professor Surnevik shared, he continued "the loneliness, the dark winters, and the cold climate. Jansson puts words and illustrations to the illusions that are created inside the mind, of fear and the worm security, that occurs in us all when in contact with the bare elements of the Nordic nature.”
Jansson's work became a framework from which the language for the project was developed.
The client’s vision was to create a project high up over the ground to establish a playful relation to the forest, and to create a positive enclosed feeling of security as a contrast to the dark nights in the forest. Searching for inspiration that would relate to the client’s objective, Professor Surnevik came across a unique reference, found in Scandinavia, Russia. There, in the cold forest-belt, fire towers have been built to overlook the huge forests in search of smoke and fire in the dry seasons.
The A-frame lodge design reference is well-known in the USA and Canada. A primal shape that is at once intimate in its width and monumental in its height, it made for the perfect shape for the PAN cabins project.
Combining these inspirations, Professor Surnevik designed and developed the PAN treetop cabins.
The treetop cabin under a thin blanket of snow
PAN CABINS
The main structure of the cabins is made of steel suspended 6 meters into the bedrock to withstand the wind loads on the cabins. The cladding is mainly in black oxidized zinc and black steel, a mysterious and bold structure that hides gently into the backdrop of the quiet forest at night.
The cabins are accessible via a set of spiral steel stairs leading up to the entryway. Once inside, guests are greeted by a welcoming wooden interior with highly precision-crafted details of pine-wood. Textiles within the space are made of 100% local wool.
Steel staircase leading to the cozy wooden entryway
The cabins provides a triangular lookout to the forest, allowing guests to take in the beautiful natural surroundings while being protected from the elements. The cabins each provide approximately 40 square meters of room, with a free height of 5,4m, free length of 8,4m, and free width of 3,7m.
The cabin features a mezzanine area with a double bed, and the space can sleep up to 6 people. The extra sleeping room is provided by beds integrated into the inner walls, which can be tilted out when needed. A full bathroom complete with water-toilet and shower completes a comfortable stay. The cozy room also has a small kitchen and a fireplace, although the cabins are fully insulated and have electrical heating in all the wood floors.
The interiors feature a small kitchen and in-wall beds
In the summer, guests are treated to views of lush greenery; in the winter, a blanket of snow covers the steep rooftop, transforming the scene into one akin to a snowy fairytale, where a single ray of light escapes from the windows of the triangular treetop cabin; it’s black exterior melting into the dark night. This scene is likely what Professor Surnevik had in mind, as he gathered his inspirations for the project.
The PAN Cabins aligned with the treetops and located in the Norwegian forest is where one could indulge in a secluded yet protected nature escape, for peace of mind and a breath of fresh country air. Intentionally designed to be minimal, it is far from the concept of glamping, rather, it sets the focus on being closer to nature. Set at a height in line with the treetops, it provides you with nature’s view of how things look from ‘up there’.
ABOUT ARCHITECT PROFESSOR ESPEN SURNEVIK
Espen Surnevik (1973) is a Norwegian contemporary Architect having his own architectural practice in Oslo but working with projects in a wide range and geographical area. Besides his practice, he is also a teaching professor at the Oslo School of Architecture.
Espen Surnevik`s works stand in the Norwegian regional tradition, with a belief that site and culture provide an evident Architectural potential to a project either it should be located in the Sahara ore in the mountains of Andes. Espen Surnevik operates in a field where he views Architecture as a discipline of Art which have the ability to reach out to the emotional and intuitive feeling of man.
Based on the regional aspect, Espen Surnevik`s approach is not based on a style, but in a belief that every situation is unique, and therefore can create a new answer based on phenomenology. The projects’ local history, the local nature, the local climate, and the local materials become, in combination with the clients’ will and program, the inspirational force that the Architectonic approach runs out from.
PROJECT TEAM
Client: PAN-tretopphytter (PAN treetop-cabins) Founder Kristian Rostad & Christine Mowinckel
Architect: Espen Surnevik - professor at The Oslo School of Architecture
Collaborating Structural Engineer: Finn-Erik Nilsen
Contractor Woodwork: Bygg- of Tømrermester Terje Nymoen AS
Contractor Steelwork: ARMEC AS
Photography: PAN-tretopphytter
