Tusen Ramundberget restaurant by Murman Arkitekter (SE)

Tucked away among the snow peaks of the small Swedish ski resort Ramundberget, this circular restaurant by the Stockholm-based Murman Arkitekter studio blends seamlessly with its unspoiled surroundings thanks to the clever use of untreated birch logs which frame the structure. Realised in 2009, the restaurant’s design was inspired by the traditional Sami hut built for centuries by Sweden’s indigenous people, as explained by the architect Hans Murman in the video below.

Boasting a clean, modern Scandinavian interior as well as the traditional, regional dishes prepared from locally-sourced ingredients, this quintessentially Nordic restaurant offers spectacular, panoramic views of the ski slopes and forests.

More about the restaurant:

‘A restaurant on top the mountain close to the ski slopes, had been on the wish list for several years. The senior management of Ramundbeget ski resort wanted a new mountain restaurant for strengthen their brand. By being “a unique type of restaurant with a menu based on local and Sami food culture, and with an architecture that should make Restaurant Tusen worth a visit”. Our first sketches showed a protecting leaning fence integrated with the building. A structure that could let the winds pass with an opening towards the sun in the middle of the day. After some alternative locations, that we tested by ski in the area, we chose an easy accessible plot for skiers in all weather types and where the low standing sunbeams could reach this spot in February/March. In this unique and sensitive context we wanted a building in harmony with the nature, the year around and day and night. Birch is the only tree that grows up to this altitude where the mountain moor starts.’

The birch façade:

‘We choose birch as it is a local nature given façade material. You not need to paint it and it are nice to look at even when the bark is falling of. The big dimensions strands strong against the hard weather and a trunk is easy exchangeable if necessary. The logs also protect the underlying construction. The logs also let the snow stay and strengthen the experience of the facade. The Resturant Tusen is like a grouse that is a common bird here. Grey during the summer and white in the winter. By choosing a wooden construction we achieved low weight and low carbon dioxide impact. It is a prefabricated building carefully put to the the ground and also a way to minimize the building time.’

Source: dailytonic