Astruptunet

VISION / A Visitor Center Shaped by the Landscape
We aim to create a visitor center shaped by the landscape, where nature can be experienced as Nikolai Astrup experienced it – alive, magical, and filled with a spiritual dimension. The goal is to support the cultural landscape and foster a profound connection between people and nature. Inspired by Astrup's painting The Cave, we have positioned the building within the slope. It is invisible from Astruptunet and appears from Jølstravatnet as a narrow crack in the landscape, concealed by site-specific vegetation. The landscape shapes the construction, ensuring that the cultural environment and cultural landscape are preserved as much as possible.

THE VISITOR CENTER / A Logical Building with Picturesque Views
The visitor center has two entrances leading to a central foyer with exhibition rooms and a café area on either side. This design allows the exhibition to be locked, enabling events to take place in the café without compromising the safety of the valuable paintings. The building's interior spaces rise with platforms that follow the natural terrain, providing a shifting nature experience as the view height changes. Universal accessibility ensures that everyone can experience both the building and the landscape.
Dark functional areas are placed underground, while public spaces receive ample daylight and offer magnificent views of Jølstravatnet. The interior spaces reflect the vocabulary of a cave, with unpredictable light entry and rooms varying in height and width, creating atmospheric lighting.
From inside the visitor center, visitors enjoy a stunning panoramic view of the lake and surrounding nature, framed as an expansive, picturesque motif. This creates a scenic representation of nature, aligned with Nikolai Astrup’s ability to capture its beauty. The goal is not to create an iconic building but to design a visitor center that serves as an instrument for experiencing nature.

LANDSCAPE / Preserving the Unique Character of the Site
Nikolai Astrup had a deep love for the landscape around Jølstravatnet. His use of colors and understanding of light and seasons are reflected in his many beautiful paintings, and it is this landscape we wish to preserve and protect with our project.
The visitor center is shaped by the site's natural terrain, safeguarding the cultural landscape so the area can be experienced as it was in Astrup's time. Our primary focus has been to create a place that integrates with nature, keeping the landscape, not the building, as the focal point. Trees and vegetation consist of local species, and pathways and surfaces are designed with the same gentle approach used at Astruptunet. Along the county road toward the water, we propose a modest development with a simple pathway connecting the bus stop to the visitor center. Astruptunet remains iconic for the site and the landscape. A building above ground would disrupt this narrative.

SUSTAINABILITY / A Passive House Preserving the Cultural Landscape
We aim to construct the visitor center as a passive house, ensuring it is well-sealed and highly insulated. Heating will be provided by geothermal energy, and we will establish heat recovery systems to ensure a comfortable indoor climate while reducing heating needs. Durable materials will be used to minimize operational costs and ensure the building’s longevity.
Locally sourced stone will be used in and around the construction to harmonize the building with the landscape’s expression and character. The visitor center will feature controlled lighting to protect the paintings, while the green roof and the building’s thermal mass ensure stable temperatures for the valuable artwork. The roof will be covered with natural, local vegetation to preserve the landscape as it was in Nikolai Astrup's time.
Most importantly, the visitor center is shaped by the site’s natural terrain and preserves the cultural landscape – ensuring that Astruptunet continues to stand as the most prominent marker in the landscape.

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