Located on Norway's west coast, Trollstigen is perched within a dramatic pass between the deep fjords that characterize the region. This panoramic site can only be visited and constructed in summer, due to severe winter weather.
Despite or perhaps because of the inaccessible nature of the site, the project built by brilliant Reiulf Ramstad Architects entails designing an entire visitor environment ranging from a mountain lodge with restaurant and gallery to flood barriers, water cascades, bridges, and paths to outdoor furniture and pavilions and platforms meant for viewing the scenery. The architecture is to be characterized by clear and precise transitions between planned zones and the natural landscape. Through the notion of water as a dynamic element –from snow, to running and then falling water- and rock as a static element, the project creates a series of prepositional relations that describe and magnify the unique spatiality of the site. The architectural intervention is respectfully delicate, and was conceived as a thin thread that guides visitors from one stunning overlook to another.
The project is on display as part of the travelling exhibition 'Detour: Architecture and Design along 18 tourist Routes in Norway'.