Office Inainn models prefabricated Norwegian house on slate

Architecture studio Office Inainn drew on the layered composition of slate for the stacked form of the prefabricated 18-07 Holiday Home on Norway's western coast.

The house is designed for a client who spent years searching for a site where they could enjoy the dramatic landscape of Valdall, a valley in Møre og Romsdal county.

Ålesund-based Office Inainn's brief was to create a house that would "let nature lead", rather than dominating this landscape.

The horizontal form of 18-07 Holiday Home references local slate and "its layers, shifts, and fractures", said studio founder Maksymilian Sawicki.

"The home is perched high above a fjord on a steep, rocky slope, where building is always a negotiation with the terrain," explained Office Inainn.

"Rather than imposing on the site, the project responds to it through subtle form, local materials, and a guiding principle: to let the landscape lead the way."

This 127-metre-square structure of 18-07 Holiday Home was built using a prefabricated system. This allowed Office Inainn to minimise the project's carbon footprint and avoid the use of heavy machinery on site.

Its plan is based on two rectangular modules on concrete plinth, raised off the hill's rocky incline. Blackened timber cladding helps the building blend in with nearby forests.

"From the start, the team chose not to level the steep, rocky terrain – preserving its character instead of reshaping it," said the studio.

"This decision defined the entire project. Two subtly shifted volumes follow the slope, creating natural variations in height, guiding light and eliminating the need for added walls. Rooms emerge from the geometry itself, forming a structure that feels grown rather than built."

Visitors approach the house along a narrow path between outcrops and the building, and enter a tall, linear corridor that follows the contour of the slope like a pathway.

This opens up into the main house, which includes a living area, kitchen, dining space, and bedrooms. The living area and bedrooms include panoramic views of the fjord.

Inside, Office Inainn chose colours and materials that would reference the surrounding environment, with forest green walls and timber floors.

The holiday home incorporates locally sourced furniture from design firm Fjordfiesta and accessories produced by manufacturers in nearby villages. All the built-in carpentry, doors, and ladders were handmade by local craftsmen and designed specifically for the project.

"The interiors are quiet – designed not to distract from the view, but to frame it," concluded founder Sawicki.

Other Norwegian homes recently featured on Dezeen include Årestua by Gartnerfuglen Arkitekter, which references traditional log cabins, and a "floating treehouse" by Snøhetta.

The photography is by ONI studio.

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