Concrete floor helps timber cabin withstand Norwegian winters

The Lund Hagem studio, which is based in Norway’s capital Oslo, has finished work on a ski resort cabin equipped with concrete flooring designed to withstand the tough conditions of high-altitude Norwegian winters.

Cabin Geilo, which is situated in the country’s Geilo ski resort, sits 928 metres above sea level, and although this gives the owners the benefit of panoramic views of the stunning Geilo Valley, it does mean that the timber cabin becomes exposed to tough winter weather conditions, including heavy snowfall.

Due to the conditions the cabin will face, it will only be possible to access the property via snowmobile or skis for a proportion of the year.

Due to its location, Lund Hagem also had to take measures to ensure that the property would be able to stand up to the weather. Luckily, the studio has lots of experience in the creation of homes in extreme places.

It created Cabin Geilo, which consists of a main living area, carport and guesthouse, with the hardiest materials available, including concrete flooring, which is both durable and a very popular design structure in Europe at the moment and vertical seams of board-formed concrete surfaces, which strengthen the timber cladding.

Speaking to Dezeen.com about the cabin, the studio said:

“This south-facing courtyard allows the low winter sun to enter during the day.

“The outer geometry is formed by the important views and the adaption to the landscape.”

As the building will be covered almost completely by snow in the winter months, it is a property built only for the hardy.