In Tyrvefjøra, a small bay just outside Ålvik along the beautiful Hardanger fjord, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration has an exciting project underway. It consists of two toilets for public use that are incorporated between boulders and rich geological formations, a construction that no one has seen before.
The architects wanted to explore one particular natural phenomenon of the area, where many trees raise directly from the bare rocks. Structurally the idea is to work directly with the trees’ root connections, both down towards the soil, and up towards the treetop.
The rest area and the toilet facility are designed as a hybrid wood and concrete construction. The construction consists of a massive irregular concrete roof simulating a natural cave that will be supported by one large irregular reinforced concrete column anchored in the rock mass and by two blocks made of natural trunks with roots that will form the perimeter walls for the toilets and technical areas.
The roof has maximum dimensions in plan of 18m x 9m.
Structural engineering through all stages of the project from conceptual phase to technical assistance during construction.