Snøhetta completes new cultural and educational centre in Norway inspired by indigenous design practices

A new cultural and educational centre inspired by the heritage and traditional building practices of the Sámi people, an indigenous group of Norway, designed by Snøhetta, in collaboration with Norwegian firm 70°N architecture and artist Joar Nango, has officially opened.

The project, called Čoarvemátta, takes its name from the Sami words for horn and root, after the deepest and strongest part of the reindeer antlers. The shared installation creates a space for the Sami National Theatre in Beaivváš and the Sami High School and Reindeer Herding School.

The two-story building is set low in the landscape and its proportions harmonize with the surrounding hills and reliefs. It avoids sharp angles, thus preserving an organic congruence with the natural environment. The roof is sloping on both sides, minimizing the height effect of the building when viewed from a distance, while forming an entry point on the southwest side.

The Čoarvemátta building has a branched shape, with the main entrance and vestibule located in its centre. This creates a gathering place for the users of the school and the theatre. From here, the body of the building extends in three directions, with a wing for the theatre, workshops and classrooms, as well as the school administration.

The curved lines of the installation, the skylights in the vestibule and the exposed wooden supporting structure are inspired by the wooden structures typical of Sámi reindeer herding areas.

The branched shape naturally forms three outdoor spaces. The one facing south houses the main entrance, which also includes a foyer, seating stones and an amphitheater. The outdoor space on the other side of the theater wing is intended for the school’s construction workshops. On the eastern side, the plateau connects the building because the land and vegetation have been preserved as close as possible to the building. North of Čoarvemátta, large areas have been set aside for reindeer fences, which are connected to the school’s reindeer herding department.

The building’s façade is of standing timber, clad in pine. The roof, which measures approximately 53,066 square feet, is covered with approximately 111,549 feet of kebony. In addition, the Alta slate stone on the gable wall of the theater was reused from the village’s former elementary school.

Inside the foyer and corridors, polished concrete floors mimic the building’s exterior flooring, with locally quarried stone elements. The centre of the building is painted in warm red tones.

The colours used by the Sámi are evoked through the contrasts between the doors, walls and floor in the different colour combinations. Snøhetta also developed the signage and wayfinding programme for the space, which includes subtle references to traditional craftsmanship and material use.

Čoarvemátta uses passive design strategies. The building is 90% self-sufficient in heating and cooling energy thanks to 40 geothermal wells drilled about 250 meters into the ground. Other environmentally friendly practices include preserving the soil that was removed from the site during construction.

In total, six new artworks were created for the project, in addition to two existing works by some of the region’s most famous and influential artists.