Dronninga landscape architects were commissioned to design a universally accessible circular walk starting at Sognefjellshytta mountain lodge. The prescribed route involved crossing Fantesteinvatnet lake.
The landscape architects partnered with engineering company Dipl.-Ing. Florian Kosche AS to solve the task. They designed a bridge from a 52 metre long steel plate, 25 millimetres thick. The plate is anchored to the rock on either side, with no columns in the water, to ensure that the span feels more like part of the landscape.
The mountain flora returns
The project involved practicians and designers working in close collaboration. Together they arrived at designs and engineering solutions that were sympathetic to the locality. The premise was set by the alpine scenery and the short summers. The building process was conducted with care to avoid scars in the landscape.
Local stone and gravel were used for the footpath. The top layer of turf was retained and put back as edging along the sides of the track, to allow the mountain flora to re-establish.
Interacting with nature
While the development makes the alpine terrain accessible to walkers and visitors staying at Sognefjellshytta, the intervention is minimal. Because walkers are now directed towards the footpath, vulnerable habitats are protected against footfall and wear, and existing man-made scars in the landscape can be healed.
The gateway appeals to all groups of users, ranging from people with disabilities to experienced hikers. They are all enthused by the elegant suspension bridge that allows them to walk dry-shod through the dramatic landscape.
Now wheelchair-users can also feel the thrill of being in the midst of the alpine landscape. And the blind and the visually impaired get a strong sense of the structure’s interaction with nature when they feel the bridge move beneath their feet.
According to the people counters that have been installed, the number of recorded walkers setting out from Sognefjellshytta increased from 7,000 (in 2017, before the project commenced) to as many as 27,000 (in 2019) after the opening of the circular walk by the gateway to Jotunheimen National Park.
Brief facts about the project
Gateway Jotunheimen: Universally designed gateway to Jotunheimen National Park, by Sognefjellshytta mountain lodge, 1400 above sea level.
By: Jotunheimen and Utladalen National Park Authority, the Norwegian Environment Agency, Dronninga landskap AS, DIFK AS, Stryvo AS, Ottadalen Anlegg AS, Nordplan AS dept. Vågå and the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI)
Design disciplines: Landscape architecture, Industrial design
Recipient of the DOGA Award
This project has received the DOGA Award for Design and Architecture for its outstanding qualities, and for showing how strategic use of design and architecture creates important social, environmental, and economic value.
These are three reasons why this is an exemplary project:
- Equal access to positive experiences of nature
The project is a low-threshold offer intended to provide access for all to close-up experiences of alpine nature, whatever their physical abilities and hiking equipment. Large sections of the footpath have a universal design. - Sympathetic building project
The solutions were site-sympathetic, with no burrow pits or damage to the surrounding terrain. - Local materials
The footpath has been built from local gravel and stone, and great care has been taken to design the trail in keeping with the terrain to avoid scars in the landscape. The upper layer of topsoil has been retained and re-used and long-life materials have been utilised throughout.
