Architecture studio Snøhetta has completed the ?oarvemátta education hub in Kautokeino, Norway, for the Sami High School and Reindeer Herding School as well as the Sami National Theatre Beaivvá?.
Designed in collaboration with local studio 70°N Arkitektur and artist Joar Nango, the structure by Snøhetta is composed of three interconnected wooden volumes that unite the two institutions beneath a single, sloping roof.
The studios drew influence from the local heritage and traditional building approaches of the region's indigenous Sami people.
Snøhetta has designed an educational hub in Norway
"[The project] is a testament to good architecture that two really non-interoperable institutions are successfully connected," said Snøhetta founder Kjetil Trædal Thorsen. "The project also provides exceptionally good use of resources, which also play a vital role in traditional Sami handicrafts, duodji, where it's an important principle that everything from the animal can be used for something ? the skin, the nostril and the horn," he continued.
"The innermost part of the reindeer horn also symbolizes different qualities and strengths and represents elements that unite, as we hope ?oarvemátta will be a unifying force for the institutions that share the building, and the Sami community at large."
The hub is composed of three interconnected wooden volumes
The 7,200-square-metre hub is split into three wings that branch out from the structure's centre...