Site Textures
occupying a mountain. The extreme landscapes of Geiranger, Norway provide for the opportunity to negotiate with the land, and to apply existing culture and building traditions. Our proposal aims to merge the languages of the land with the languages of culture. The complex is divided into two programmatic pieces: the terminal and the hotel, which are linked by a sky bridge. Each programmatic element is then given a language: the terminal, ever moving, is a series of shifting planes. The hotel, which evokes permanence, is orthogonal and traditional. The complex understands each piece as a threshold, whose transitions are both spacial and theoretical. The terminal is a threshold from water to land, the tower is a threshold from low ground to high ground, the bridge is a threshold from the safe ground into the cliff, and the hotel is a threshold between the visitors and the landscape. The complex is designed so that the itinerary is parallel to the length of stay. The thresholds move you from low ground into high ground. Therefore, there is a relationship between height and length of stay. Visitors who stay longer are able to experience the landscape through the highest point.
ENTRY 65218
The location of the hotel, visitor center, and outlook area are located in ways which take advantage of the views of the site by arising higher than the cruise ships.
Tidal turbines, concealed under the water, serve to generate energy which is harvested to power cruise ships while docked. The energy generated can also be used to power the terminal.