Designed by Lund Hagem, Cabin Lille Aroya is a small 75 sqm summer cabin located just 5 meters from the water’s edge, safely perched above the ocean as it straddles two of the boulders on the rocky edge of a Norwegian island with boat access only.
Cabin Lille Aroya is anchored into the two boulders via thin galvanized steel stilts that help level its unusual position.
The island home is just off the coast of the Helgeroa Village. The site is exposed to strong winds but has the most unbelievable panoramic ocean views.
The topography until recently would have been considered “unfriendly” to build on but with today’s technologies the home sits safely on its boulder perch thanks to the steel stilts firmly embedded into the rocky face.
A pre-existing home sat further back on the only horizontal surface within the site, this home was replaced with two structures, one for the social zone and the other for the bedrooms and the bathrooms.
The inland structure, where the bedrooms and bathrooms are located is clad in pine while the social volume is wrapped in glazings.
The bedrooms are faced with wood slats for privacy. There are three bedrooms in the inland volume while the master bedroom is attached to the social volume, although at the back of it like the tail of a “T”.
The bathroom, positioned at the inland end of the private volume, is completely clad in concrete.
Minimalist brass fixtures contrast with the concrete.
A wood walkway travels along the outside of the bathroom and bedrooms before widening into a outdoor terrace between the two volumes and then narrowing again as it travels along the outside of the master bedroom and the social zone.
A slatted triangular frame is fixed to the gable of the glazed volume and then bolted to the rock below. This sculptural element helps protect the volume from the wind while at the same time providing shade from the sun.
Inside the social zone the materials repeat those used on the exterior to blur the threshold of the interior and exterior zones.
The materials used both inside and out are pine wood, raw concrete, steel and glass.
Lund Hagem designed Cabin Lille Aroya to work in harmony with its surrounding landscape.
Cabin floor plan.
Cabin elevation.
Stilt locations.
Lund Hagem.
Photography by Alexander Westberg and Lund Hagem.
With today’s building advances, its amazing what architects can do with previously uninhabitable sites. Cabin Lille Aroya straddles two boulders, while other homes, such as this unique cliff house, are perched on a large boulder that protrudes out and over the beach below.
