Faroe Islands Hygge
Shortlisted for a hillside housing development in the Faroe Islands from 140 global submissions, the work presents a region-specific model of sustainability based upon progressive and rigorous design concepts. The Faroe Islands homes hover effortlessly over a wild landscape, gently placed on shear gabion walls filled with stone scattered on the mountainside. This sensitive approach to construction minimises disruption to the terrain and retains a natural porosity to the existing landscape. Anabatic and Katabatic mountain windows flow freely under the homes; these unrelenting winds power micro turbines placed under each dwelling, providing an unlimited source of energy in an environment where the lack of daylight would provide insufficient energy for technologies like solar. The additional air circulation provides added benefits by reducing wind pressure on the façades and enables the creation of functional spaces specific to Faroese culture, such as drying fish and Skerpikjøt, a wind-dried mutton. This proposal is an architecture for people, reinforcing the rituals and joy of everyday life - immersed in a landscape of raw wilderness.
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