This Hotel In Norway Is Shaped Like A Ring And Offers Stunning 360-Degree Views

Norway will have a cool new hotel to welcome visitors to in 2021. And by cool, we don’t just mean the frigid winter temperatures. Inside and out, the Svart hotel is groundbreaking — while barely touching the actual ground.

Currently in development, the hotel will be constructed in a striking ring shape, jutting out over the waters of the Holandsfjorden. Rooms will have oversized windows opening to panoramic views of the Arctic. In fact, guests will be able to paddle right under the hotel.

Powerhouse Property

However, that’s only the beginning. Located north of the Arctic Circle, the property will be the first energy net-positive hotel. That means it will generate more renewable energy than it consumes.

It goes beyond simply being green: Svart will be a product of a coalition called Powerhouse, which designs and creates buildings that, over “the course of a 60 year period … will generate more renewable energy than the total amount of energy that would be required to sustain daily operations and to build, produce materials and demolish the building.”

“Building in such a precious environment comes with some clear obligations in terms of preserving the natural beauty and the fauna and flora of the site,” Snøhetta says. “The poles [lifting the building above the fjord] ensure that the building physically places a minimal footprint in the pristine nature, and gives the building an almost transparent appearance.”

Once completed, the hotel will host visitors at the base of Norway’s second largest glacier, Svartisen, without disturbing the surrounding ecosystem of Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park. The hotel is so remote, it is not accessible by car. Instead, guests will arrive by boat.

Rustic Reboot

(A-shaped wooden structure for drying fish) and the “rorbue” (a traditional type of seasonal house used by fishermen),

Its stunning over-water design marries form and function in perfect harmony. The inspiration for the forward-thinking property include traditional Norwegian fiskehjell  and rorbue — fiskehjell is a wooden structure for drying fish, and rorbue is a simple fisherman’s hut with piers supporting one end. Who knew rustic fishing huts could translate into a luxurious hotel?

As a result, wood will be the main material used for the building. Wood will cover the hotel and make up the load-bearing system hoisting the structure above the water.

Sustainability is the guiding light throughout the project. “Creating an energy-positive hotel, which has a corresponding low-impact operation, has been absolutely crucial to developing a tourist attraction with a focus on sustainability and respect for the area’s rare plant species, its pure glacier water and its blue glacier ice within the unique community around the hotel,” Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, founding partner of Snøhetta, told Visit Norway.

Snøhetta, the architecture firm responsible for the lofty project, is world renowned. They are responsible for high-profile projects including the 9/11 Memorial Pavilion in New York and the Oslo Opera House, among others.

Svart may manage to top the list. It will definitely top plenty of travelers’ lists once it opens. Pencil in a trip to Norway in 2021, and start saving up now.

There are other unique ways to sleep on calm waters, but this one looks pretty amazing.