Under the Northern Lights

written by Andrew Devine
architects Sami Rintala, Dagur Eggertsson, Yashar Hanstad and Andreas G. Gjertsen

 
Strong forces have been playing out in the skies over the past week as solar storms have met the Earth’s magnetic fields, exploding in streams of light. The Aurora Borealis comes out to dance and the occasional star shoots across the sky. A peachy wash in the sky has been growing stronger throughout the week and today we witness the return of the light. For a short period, the sun broke above the rugged glacial carved mountains that characterise this remote north Norwegian coastline. One quickly learns to work within the variable conditions and challenging landscape, falling deeper into the rhythm of this truly remarkable place. It is here that my journey began on the Fordypningsrommet Fleinvær project in the summer of 2014. I arrived at the commencement of the build, designing and constructing from the foundations up, a blend between architecture and carpentry into what has been coined carpitecture.