Pause and experience the passing of time with the Snøhetta tidal installation

Snøhetta, the renowned Norwegian architecture and design firm, has created a distinctive installation and rest area for travellers at Traelvikosen in Norway, as part of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s Norwegian Scenic Routes program. This site is now open for visitors to walk into nature itself, on 55 stepping stones placed in the water in a horizontal line towards the greater ocean. The site offers a range of impressions, from the small details on the shore to the grand views, and in addition, invites a deeper understanding of time itself and the ever-changing nature.

Through the Norwegian Scenic Routes program, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration has developed an attraction with international appeal over almost 30 years. Road travellers are provided with service facilities as well as the experience of innovative architecture and thought-provoking art in spectacular scenery. The selected roads run through landscapes with unique natural qualities, along coasts and fjords, mountains and waterfalls, and are intended as alternatives to the main roads. In addition to aiding value creation in the tourism industry, the initiative has made a wide range of lesser-known areas more available to the public to explore, experience and enjoy.

Compared to other Norwegian scenic route projects, Trælvikosen aims to offer something distinctive. The installation invites visitors to be immersed in nature, experiencing it, rather than just passing by or watching from a distance. Intentionally designed to make visitors slow down and observe, learn, and sense what is going on, the Snøhetta installation might also ignite new reflections on nature itself and how we take care of it in the future.

Landscape architect Thea Hartmann Kvamme elaborates that if we truly want to take better care of our nature, we also need more people to see and learn more about it. At Trælvikosen, the site was intentionally designed to ensure visitors were enticed to stay longer than normal, to truly experience the details, the time and nature itself. The sandy bottom of Trælvikosen contains beautiful natural elements, from the small pyramids of the lugworm to traces of snails moving through the ground, flounders, round stones in unique formats and the river meandering in an ever-changing trajectory. These natural details are all exposed, but the picture changes throughout the day and the same goes for the experience of the surroundings.

The Snøhetta installation at Trælvikosen offers the opportunity for visitors to walk across the sandy sea bottom in a precise line from the beach towards a small islet and the view towards the famous mountain Torghatten, becoming a fluid experience in line with the tidal level. It offers a deeper understanding of time itself and its ever-changing nature, with new details and perspectives revealed as the tide retracts and advances, minute by minute, inch by inch. In 2022, Snøhetta’s design at Trælvikosen is one of eleven new architectural projects that are opened as part of the new Scenic Route project series.