Morfeus Arkitekter: Mirrored Toilet Block On Norwegian Coastline

July 12 2018 | By Susanna McArdle for Yellowtrace
Bukkekjerka Mirrored Toilet Block On Norwegian Coastline By Morfeus Arkitekter

The Norwegian coastline is rugged and formidable and at times terribly desolate. Vesterålen, Sortland, Norway is no exception. Here, Nature’s craggy mountains meet a harsh, and unforgiving sea. A reflective building sheathed in mirror and designed by the Norwegian architects MORFEUS Arkitekter, sits in the shadow of a rock formation referred to as Bukkekjerka, an old Sami pagan sacrificial site. It is a place steeped in history, religious meaning, burial mounds and Viking boat landings.

Designed around the views from vernacular Norwegian outhouses, the building, aside from the mirrored exterior, consists of polished, acid-resistant steel. A visitor to the bathrooms is in the unique position of being in an intimate space whilst surveying the extraordinary expansive views over the open sea and mountain peaks of the north. The mirror, of course, is the magician of building materials, elusive and slippery. It is never itself, but the image it reflects. In this case, the mirror is a reflection of the remote and harsh landscape that surrounds the building, making it appear to morph into the very landscape it reflects.

“The mirroring makes the built melt in with the surroundings, at the same time offering new and shifting experiences,” said the architects. This was a challenging project for MORFEUS Arkitekter. The weather conditions, the remoteness of the site, the hard slog of the build. But it is unique projects like this, ones that reach the furthest landscapes of our globe, that support not just the visitors who journey there but the very people who call it home.

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Morfeus Arkitekter: Mirrored Toilet Block On Norwegian Coastline

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Book A Tour.The Blender experience is better in-person.

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Event Space Inquiry.The Blender experience is better in-person.

The Blender experience is better in-person.

Book A Tour.
The Blender experience is
better in-person.

Connect With Us.
The Blender experience is
better in-person.

Event Space Inquiry.
The Blender experience is
better in-person.

The Blender experience is
better in-person.