dark mode light mode Search
Search

Espen Surnevik Suspends A-Shaped Cabins Above Norway’s Finnskogen Forest

Pan Treetop Cabins, Gjesåsen, Norway / Espen Surnevik

Rasmus Norlander

Designed by architect Espen Surnevik, the Pan Treetop cabins offer a birds-eye-view of Norway´s beautiful Finnskogen forest. The vision of the architect was to create something that would easily settle into the landscape without making a big change in the surrounding nature. The forest itself has been the biggest source of inspiration, but also the North American A-lodges, modern power line constructions and the houses of the Moomin characters have all been central in the creative process leading up to the design of the PAN Treetop cabins.

 Pan Treetop Cabins, Gjesåsen, Norway / Espen Surnevik

The Pan Treetop Cabins project was conceived in 2016 by Kristian Rostad and Christine Mowinckel, who commissioned architect Espen Surnevik, and consists of two identical cabins raised 8 m (26 ft) above the ground. The angle and placement of the cabins have carefully been adjusted to the sun in order to provide an optimum experience of natural light and nature at any time. The large glass facades let all the natural light pour in, adding ambiance to the experience while simultaneously heating up the living area. The energy-efficient design of the cabin naturally minimizes the energy expenditure and thus supports the vision of creating an environmentally conscious recreational activity.

Materials, interior and flooring are all chosen specifically to adhere to sustainable principles. This plays along with the natural lighting so you will feel as if you are sitting out in the nature, even though you are indoors. At night you can sit in the cabin and watch the sunset form a landscape slowly changing into night while the sounds of the forest changes as the light diminishes.

An essential and very important principle has been that the cabins will blend into the surroundings in a non-intrusive way. The underlying thought is that you should be able to remove the cabins and not be able to see any trace of human activity be left behind.

 Pan Treetop Cabins, Gjesåsen, Norway / Espen Surnevik

Each cabin sleeps six and includes one double bed and four singles. They both have water and electricity connections and the chill is kept at bay with both a wood-burning stove and underfloor heating. For those who’d like to spend some time in one of the Pan Treetop Cabins, they are available to rent from 4,900 NOK (roughly US$575 USD), per night.

 Pan Treetop Cabins, Gjesåsen, Norway / Espen Surnevik Pan Treetop Cabins, Gjesåsen, Norway / Espen Surnevik Pan Treetop Cabins, Gjesåsen, Norway / Espen Surnevik Pan Treetop Cabins, Gjesåsen, Norway / Espen Surnevik

Sign up to our newsletters and we’ll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.