About a month ago we received an email from Arild Eriksen, principal of Eriksen Skajaa Architects, telling us that they have recently won the competition for new gateways to the Sjunkhatten National Park in the northern part of Norway. Their proposal called “SAIVU” means portal to another world for the Sami people, indigenous from the Arctic region that stretches the countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

The designers described their proposal as deeply rooted in the Sami traditions. They designed three gateways to the National Park “Based on the myths of the sami people and their understanding of nature, the construction system of their ”lavvo”, and an interpretation of old sami signs.” The photo above from the 1900 shows, a Sami family in front of goahti (a larger version of the lavuu) and the tent in the background is a lavvu.

The proposal for the park focuses on children and the jury found that the mythical quality of the project enriches the children’s experience of nature.

From all the images is the one above - in my opinion - that captures the sensibility that the designers were able to weave onto their proposal. Curiously, Elizabeth commented that this image remind her a late 19th century fairy tale illustration. Maybe in reference to the illustrations of Ivan Bilibini for Father Frost - the Russian fairy tale.

The project obviously won the first prize because grabbed the jurors attention, by communicating the state of consciousness of children imagination. This is where the poetry of the project resides. Seduced the jurors, reminded Elizabeth of a late nineteenth century illustration and, I imagined that she was referring to Father Frost. Watch the slideshow of the project and tell us what comes to your imagination?