Log cabins are to Norway like fjords are to its mountains. You expect to see it: the stacks of brown timber that build up age-old cabins, dotting the valleys below monolithic mountain ranges. They’re the kind of homes that work in tandem with their environment, almost appearing synergistically with the mountain that encompasses them. The Diamanten Cabin, or, “The Diamond,” designed and constructed by A38 Arkitekter, doesn’t disrupt that synergy, but seamlessly cycles itself into it, like a cogwheel clicking into the grooves of another and rotating.

The Diamanten Cabin, which is positioned atop a cylindrical support pillar in Oppdal, Norway, was constructed within its mountainous, pre-existing framework. The architects with A38 Arkitekter centralized environmental harmony in designing their winter annex; adjacent log cabins punctuate corners of the valley where the diamond-shaped cabin perks. The final structure is visually enigmatic, but chameleon-like in its commitment to reinvigorating, yet respecting the community to which it belongs. Nestled nearby traditionally vibrant timber cabins, the Diamanten Cabin is unassuming in size, with a total of only a single, open room.

However, The Diamanten’s artistry is found not in its size, but in the way it appeals to the landscape and vernacular structures that cradle it. The frame of the cabin is structured so that the roof cascades gracefully in the direction of the massive mountain that frames its larger community. The cabin’s transparent pitched roof provides a vista point for the expansive valley’s horizon that rests just ahead of it. The minimal, yet sturdy cylindrical foundation emphasizes the designer’s devotion to environmental harmony as the single-room home borrows minimal physical space in its conception, maintaining the natural state of the surrounding land.

Reimagining something as iconic as the log cabin is no easy feat. One might describe The Diamanten as a modern, minimalist take on the original, simpler cabin, but it remains and thrives as something completely on its own. The Diamond might not assume singularity the same way classic log cabins have for centuries, but it reignites the possibilities of what it could look like. Just ahead and to the right of time-honored log cabins of yesterday, rests the Diamanten, offering innovation in structure and design from an exciting, fresh vantage point. Off lofty, full-length windows reflects an enlivened and crystal clear vision of Oppdal, Norway’s limitless horizons and it gleams, making it a perfect getaway for a socially distant getaway!

Designers: A38 Arkitekter