The Northface House located in Stavanger, Norway was designed in 2010 by Oslo-based design studio Element Arkitekter AS.
The existing property was built in 1969 as a twin to the neighbouring building. It no longer functioned well to the demands of 21st century living, neither in the room sizes nor in their solutions, and it generally needed bringing up-to-date to be come a contemporary Norwegian house.
“Element, together with the client, has come to a solution where mainly the bottom two stories are rehabilitated while the top storey is replaced with a lighter and more open construction which opens up towards a grand view of the fjord. This is a big change from the earlier situation where it was necessary to go down a level to see the view.
The top volume is three meters cantilevered over the rest of the volumes and is pulled away from the road to make room for a larger sun deck towards the south and to let more light into the contemporary Norwegian building. This deck is also thereby sheltered from the northern wind.
The architectural expression strengthens the qualities on the site and reflects its northern orientation. At the same time it respects the existing constructive principles.
I’m really liking the view. It’s funny that I was looking at a home recently that had a great view. The view wasn’t quite as exotic as this, but it had a really nice overlook across the horizon and landscape. I can’t move there now, but I really like the “resort-like” feeling. Check it out.