Norway cabin was designed as a cosy, minimalist escape

I/O Norway Cabin — (Image credit: Carlos Rollán)

This Norway cabin composed of low, orthogonal volumes linked together by generous outdoor space becomes the perfect setting for a rural escape. The simple, contemporary cabin by architect Erling Berg brings together minimalist architecture and striking vistas of Risør, a seaside region in the country's south.

A room with a large window and a bed, with white painted timber walls

A Norway cabin with a view

The site's steep incline means residents can make the most of long views of tree canopies and the sea beyond; yet it gave the architect a challenge in terms of the structure's positioning and landing on the ground. Berg opted for raising the cabin on stilts, creating a timber floating platform for it above the lot's sloped terrain of solid rock.

'The summer cabin is wrapped in locally sourced spruce siding, impregnated with an organic wood protection with grey colour pigments,' Berg writes. This gives it 'a natural and weathered look from day one'.

The cabin interior with a log burning fire place

The single-level home comprises three volumes. One contains the principal bedroom, a single bedroom and the bathroom; the second, a further two guest rooms; and the largest hosts the open-plan living spaces.

A close up of the kitchen space, with simple white tiling, metal high stools, and timber kitchen

The minimalist interiors contrast with the exterior in their lighter tones, and are mostly clad in white-painted, horizontal wood siding and white oiled spruce. This provides a nod to Norway's traditional coastal structures of this type.

Bathroom with a slim vertical window. The shower is encased in white tiling

The cabin's wooden pillars are matched by the deck's cross-laminated timber beams – which continue upwards to hold the roof, offering consistency in material use throughout.

Meanwhile, the strategically orientated, large, orthogonal openings ensure the verdant setting becomes the main protagonist in every stay.

It's an intention further underlined by the floorplan, conceived to create a rich 'inside/outside' relationship that feels of its place in this Norway cabin retreat.

erlingberg.com

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).