saunders architecture: forest stair in stokke, norway

‘forest stair’ by saunders architecture, stokke, norway image © bent rené synnevåg all images courtesy of saunders architecture

overlooking the sti for øye sculpture park in stokke, a town south of oslo, norway, ‘forest stair’ is an observation point designed by norwegian practice saunders architecture. emerging from the wooded landscape of the vestfold oak forest, the corten-clad stairway is positioned beyond a series of artist installations along a nature walk. open riser stairs made from wood lead to an elevated platform which looks east towards castle rock, offering a new perspective to visitors. at the pinnacle of the structure, a glass balustrade is the delicate barrier between the viewer and the 4.5 meter drop.

the solitary object projects a surrealist vision within the forest, providing an element of verticality above the horizontal landscape. initial surveying of the topography and vegetation ensured the preservation of all trees by opting to fly in the assembled unit with a helicopter and lowering it into place.

approach to the stairway image © bent rené synnevåg

open risers lead to the top platform image © bent rené synnevåg

structure emerges from and overlooks the landscape images © bent rené synnevåg

at sunset image © bent rené synnevåg

view from the platform image © bent rené synnevåg

site location

elevation

elevation

sketch

sketch

project info:

client: stokke municipality and sti for øye sculptural park architect: saunders architecture – bergen, norway team architects: todd saunders, attila béres, ken beheim-schwarzbach general contractor and carpenter: timber AS, anders frøstrup steel consultants and builders: jotne mekaniske verksteder as, terje johannessen, christian larsson, helge thorsen landscape architects: rainer stange, dronninga landskap size: 30 m2, 11 m length, 1.2 to 3.5 m width, 4.5 m height location: stokke, norway status: finished january 2012