Aurland WC | Saunders Architecture

Project and Process

The site is above Aurland, a small town in Sogn og Fjordane, one of the larger fjords on the West Coast of Norway. Aurland is three hours drive from Bergen, Norway’s second largest city. We were one of three architecture firms invited to deliver a design proposal for this site. After winning we worked on detail drawings for the project together with Node Engineers, Bergen. The project was built in Fall 2005 and was officially opened in June 2006.

The place has attracted people from all over the world. We called our competition entry «640m over Aurland and 20120 km from Tokyo», keeping in mind the uniqueness of the place in the bigger picture. 

The Place – the nature

Nature first and architecture second was the guiding principal when we sat down to design this project.  It was immediately obvious to us that in such beautiful surroundings one must make the least possible encroachment in the existing landscape and terrain. The landscape is so fantastic that it is difficult to improve the place, but at the same time very easy to destroy the atmosphere by inserting too many elements into the site. Even though we have chosen an expressive form, the concept is a form of minimalism, in an attempt to conserve and complement the existing nature.

Organization

Today there are many people stopping at this site to enjoy the phenomenal views over the fjords. At times the areas gets filled with cars and tour busses. One of the first things we decided to do was to form a small parking area for 2 buses and 10 cars further up the road to help keep the place pure and not to disturb the look out. The construction is a bridge that one can go out onto, as a structure in the air. The structure is 4 m wide, 30 long, and 9m high out at the very end.

The Horizon and Dramatization

To make the situation even more dramatic it was important for us to create the experience of leaving the mountainside. We wanted people to come out in the air. The construction creates a distinct horizon; a bridge in the open room of this large fjord.  It is imperative that the landscape and the vegetation not altered, but are protected so that one came come out from the landscape and experience it from new standpoint.

We have managed to keep all of the large pine trees on the site.  This allows us to create an interaction between the structure and nature. One can walk out into the air through the treetops, helping dramatise the experience of nature and the larger landscape room.

Parking and Public Toilet

To accommodate vehicular-bound tourists stopping to appreciate the fantastic views over the fjords, the architects made provision for a small parking area and washrooms 100 metres further up the road away from the bridge, preserving the purity of the outlook and of the views.  The materials used in the public washroom buildings echo that of the lookout bridge, and the washrooms also employ the same conceptual underpinning of hovering over the fjord with an unprecedented sense of visual engagement and connection to the landscape.

The architecture of the public toilet is opposite of the lookout.  While the lookout is light looking the pubic toilet is black painted concrete that is more heavy and solid in appearance.  The building is pushed slightly over the edge.  The gives it drama yet also creates a facade that is inaccessable to the public.  People can look out to the great view from inside the toilets, but no one can look in.