Gungnir's Point

INTRODUCTION

Gungnir’s Point, the name inspired by Odin’s Spear, is a mix of Old World functionality and New World functionality. The lighthouse typology has always been a guide and an icon, i.e. The Great Lighthouse, and the surviving lighthouses these days become iconic tourist spots, so I imagined this design the same way. It is both a guide and an icon, a stalwart reminder of the rich history of Svalbard and an iconic piece of architecture for the town. Because I designed the lighthouse with the idea that people would have 24/7 access to it, I wanted to stress the weight of the mythology and iconography in the design, hence the name. Since Svalbard is a Scandinavian town, I thought it best to relate the design to Norse Mythology. I chose Gungnir as the name inspiration of the design predominantly because of its connection to Odin and the fact that there is a significant population of polar bears in Svalbard. In Norse Mythology, bears are particularly absent, however, it has been stated that the bear is the favored disguise of Thor and his father Odin. Bears are seen as the forefathers of humankind in some cultures. The bear also symbolizes wisdom, strength, healing, and balance. Gungnir is the name of the spear of Odin. Naming the design, Gungnir’s Point, seemed apt to pay an homage to Odin, and to an extent, the mythological history of Svalbard. Additionally, naming it Gungnir’s Point implies that Odin protects Svalbard, reinforcing the mythology. 

The lighthouse is divided into two, The Tower (the main lighthouse fixture) and The Vault (the subterranean section). The Tower provides the traditional functionality of the lighthouse, while The Vault supplements the iconography of the lighthouse.

OBJECTIVES

To address the objectives of the competition:

Re-imagine - Because the project has a 7m height limit, I called on modern technology to circumvent the limitation. Since lighthouses should be tall, towering structures, I thought to maintain this ideology. Instead of going up, however, I decided to go down. This supplements the idea that the lighthouse (in my design) represents both Yggdrasil and a signal fire, but more so Yggdrasil. Since I wanted to make an iconic piece of architecture but didn’t have the height to support it, I decided to add the design metaphor of delving deeper into the history of Svalbard as going under Yggdrasil. It metaphorically represents an urge to dig deeper into the roots of the history of the town. 

Celebrate - This goes hand-in-hand with ‘Re-imagine’ in the sense that it is modern building technologies that allow us to conceptualize designs like this. In the olden days, you can’t build underground portions of structures as easily as we do today. The concept of creating an underground section celebrates the power of modern building technology. It also celebrates the town of Svalbard because of the totem pole situated there. 

Resilient - The materials used in the design should be durable in cold climates. The addition of The Hearth also adds a bit of warmth to the interior of The Vault. The Tower (the main lighthouse fixture) is made out of an aluminum structure cladded in cedarwood. The Vault’s walls are made of concrete made to help withstand cold temperatures (Portland Cement Type III) since it works as a shear wall as well. The stairs are also made of the same concrete with a light sand finish to reduce the slip. The totem pole is made out of the same material as The Tower, an aluminum frame with wood cladding. Since the LED screens (situated around The Vault) will be working 24/7 the screens are expected to work since the microclimate around them will be maintained by the heat of them running 24/7. 

Context - The overall concept of the design, being situated in Svalbard, considers the town and the context of the town. The entire design was created to pay homage to Svalbard. Additionally, choosing a concept that combines the Old World mythos and function with New World iconography supplements the contextualization of the design. Yggdrasil (The World Tree in Norse Mythology) is a recognized symbol in both worlds as is the medieval signal fire (since the form is seen with varying aesthetics in mainstream media), the affinity to the form is apparent because of its familiarity. This results in a lighthouse that is easily recognizable in both form and function. 

THE TOTEM POLE

Since the primary concept of the design is a juxtaposition of the Old World and New World, I decided to create a modernized version of a totem pole. It’s modern in the sense that the aesthetic is more geometric than it is detailed (because modern art and aesthetics lean more into base geometry than fine details) and the interactive element of ‘The Hearth’ section relates to the decreased level of static design and increased level of interactive design. The totem pole is divided into three, The Whale, The Bear, and The Hearth. The Whale is an homage to the whaling history of Svalbard, it is a reminder of the history of the town. The Bear, on the other hand, is a symbolic reminder of the mythology of Svalbard (Svalbard was allegedly founded by Vikings, to varying degrees of truths), it shows a bear paw and a stylized spear both of which are an homage to the name (Gungnir’s Point) and Odin. Finally, The Hearth is a social and cultural space. In addition to the main feature (the hearth itself), the space also has a mini-theatre that shows the best vistas of Svalbard. In this mini-theatre, shows are also conducted every 30 mins (for both tourists and locals) to reinforce the story of Gungnir’s Point. This particular design addition raises the New World ideology of less static design and more interactive design. Visitors can also burn letters and small items in the hearth as a cultural homage to ceremonial burning activities done by the Vikings. There is also a small water feature present to remind visitors of the water around the area. The smoke from The Hearth exits through small indentations near the top and through the totem pole. Since the fire is controlled and the smoke is directed upward, there’s little risk for it running amok. 

THE LIGHT DESIGN

Since the concept of the design is to combine Old World and New World, the upward beam of the lighthouse serves a dual purpose. It serves as an irrevocable wayfinding tool and as a tribute to Odin. This light is the other personification of the name Gungnir’s Point as the light is the metaphorical spear of Odin, planted on the soil of Svalbard. The light is directed up into the sky (and partly down onto the totem pole, though to a lesser degree) and in a 360 circle. Lastly, the power of the light and the directions that the lights go are to reinforce the Old World iconography of the lighthouse into the design. At the end of the day, the challenge calls for a lighthouse and the play on the light exudes the historic function of the typology as a beacon.