A cottage house with a broad view of Mother Nature’s boulders, rigid mountains, and the Norwegian Sea sitting upon the island of Vega, close to the polar circle.

Vega’s indigenous architecture by Kolman Boye Architects is a direct response to its extreme environment. Native fisherman’s cabins - known locally as nausts - are commonly found in northern seaside locations. ’The simple quality of the traditional shoreline huts, which families have used for storing fishing equipment, was the inspiration for the cottage’s contemporary-vernacular design,’ says Kolman Janouch, who co-founded the practice with Victor Boye Julebäk. The architects’ intention was to create a modern boathouse, inspired by local architecture and materials.

Seemingly growing from the landscape, the house sits on a rock beneath a granite shoulder negotiating the uneven terrain. As not to disturb the dominant view towards the sea, access to the house is given through a narrow natural ravine densely grown with gnarled birch shrubs and laid out with sea-sand from the nearby shore. The landscape remains untouched and wild.

The large windows of the house face three directions, each with its strong unique characteristic. They are simple and robust in detailing and the optically white glass conveys undisturbed frames of the ocean, the mountain range and the bedrock.