As the centrepiece to the Working the Land exhibition, the Light Touch installation combines an illuminated walkway with a secluded seating area and was designed to demonstrate the craftsmanship that is key to Haptic's architectural practice.

A kinetic mechanism is attached to the top of the structure, lifting a chain of lights up and down in a wave-like motion. One side of these lights shines onto a wall of images in the corridor, while the other projects shades of pink, purple and blue through the slatted facade of the cabin.

Visitors sitting inside the cabin can make themselves comfortable amongst a collection of reindeer skins. Smoke is emitted from openings at their feet, clouding the light as it gradually filters in.

Haptic worked with artist Ruairi Glynn on the complex assembly of the installation, which involved piecing together CNC-milled slats of black MDF then ensuring the mechanism fitted exactly.

"The precise nature of the installation, with every two intersecting pieces having multiple finger joints held together by friction, took a large team effort working to very fine tolerances," Haptic director Nikki Butenschøn told Dezeen. "It took three grown men with an artillery of mallets to pound the damn slats into submission."

The architects compare the effect to the "dramatic lighting conditions found in the Norwegian landscapes", a reference to the nationality of many of the Haptic team.

Working the Land is on show at the London office of consulting engineers Buro Happold until 15 March.

Tomas Stokke, Scott Grady and Timo Haedrich launched London firm Haptic Architects in 2009. They have since opened a second studio in Oslo, headed up by Nikki Butenschøn. Recent projects include a forest-like hotel lounge and a Norwegian hunting lodge.

Photography and movie by Simon Kennedy.

Here's a description of the exhibition from Haptic Architects:

Working the Land - an exhibition by Haptic Architects

Working the Land presents the recent work of Haptic and provides an insight into the practice's ethos, to work carefully and strategically with the site context, whilst focusing on materiality and craftsmanship.

Haptic is a London and Oslo based architectural studio, established in 2009. Our designs are conceptually driven, inspired by nature and formed through a critical, iterative design process. A strong emphasis is given to user experience; how one interacts with the buildings and spaces. The term "Haptic" refers to the sense of touch. We believe a shift from the optical to the haptical is a move that benefits the users of our buildings.

Haptic are currently working on a wide range of building typologies. These include airports, hotel and conferencing facilities, urban design and mixed-use residential, exhibition spaces and private dwellings. Presented here is cross-section of projects, at early stages to completed works.

The installation "Light Touch" takes its inspiration from the dramatic natural lighting conditions found in the Norwegian landscapes. The slatted timber box draws from vernacular architecture and the way in which the low-lying sunlight filters through the forests, whilst providing a tranquil breakout space for Buro Happold and visitors.

Graphic Design: BOB
Kinetic Design: Ruairi Glynn & Chryssa Varna
Lighting Design: Concept Design

The post Light Touch installation
by Haptic appeared first on Dezeen.

The open-plan lounge is also the lobby for the hotel, which contains 300 guest rooms and a business conference centre.

The stacked-up timber beams form the reception counter, while the trees create a protective canopy along the edges of a 350-seat canteen.

"The challenge was to provide spaces that felt intimate whilst being easy to get to, flexible and compatible with large-scale event logistics," Haptic's Tomas Stokke told Dezeen.

Instead of using matching furniture, the designers have added a variety of chairs by different designers, including Charles and Ray Eames, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, and Jasper Morrison.

A row of timber columns separates the lounge from the hotel restaurant, where more columns fold outwards to shelter dining tables.

In contrast to the busy spaces of the lobby, the guest rooms have a simplified design, with a muted colour palette and plain furnishings.

Graphics and signage were created by BOB Design.

Another hotel completed recently is the Hôtel Droog, which opened in Amsterdam earlier this month.

See more hotels on Dezeen »

Photography is by Trine Thorsen.

Here's a project description from the architects:

Inspired by Nature

This interior architectural project for a large, 300-room hotel and conferencing venue, is inspired by the stunning Norwegian landscape and uses a primary palette of natural materials to provide variety in spatial composition, form, texture and colour.

The primary design strategy was to rationalise a complex set of interconnecting spaces and functions, providing consistent themes and architectural tectonics, but variety and specific "installations" to define each space from the next.

The main communal space of the hotel is understood through a simple architectural theme, the "big floor", which is then subtly sub-divided into zones to define the lobby, from the restaurant/canteen to private dining, lounge/library and conference lobby.

The Norwegian forests are a primary inspiration, whereby timber is used through out in very different ways to create semi-permeable screens, cladding to cores, a bespoke square-log reception and bar, right down to details such as signage and loose furniture.

The main lobby space is framed by a stylised forest wall that divides the lobby from the restaurant but allows glimpses between the spaces and filters natural light from the main skylight above.

The lobby is more than a reception and waiting lounge, elevated to a communal dining and meeting point for hotel and conference guests. Subtle lighting has been installed to work with the planted trees, where shadows from their canopies dance upon the articulated lobby ceiling.

The lounge and library space is defined by a slender timber screen, that seemingly goes off for a walk, creating bar shelving, bookshelves, desks and ceiling.

The post Quality Hotel Expo in Oslo
by Haptic appeared first on Dezeen.

A lounge, kitchen and library will be accommodated in five buildings surrounding an open courtyard, oriented so they each look out onto a different view of the surrounding forest or Norway's largest fjord.

A lower-level cut into the mountain will house the additional facilities for guests, including spa and treatment rooms, a gymnasium and a pool with a wall that partially exposes the surrounding rock.

Natural materials including timber cladding and raw stone will help root the buildings in their surroundings, while cutaway corners and openings offer different vistas.

Paths will lead from the lodge to eight private cabins nestled among the trees on the hillside that descends towards the fjord.

Haptic previously collaborated with Norwegian practice Narud Stokke Wiig on a proposal for an airport in the Arctic Circle. See all of our stories from Norway here.

Click above for larger image

Images are by MIR.

Here's some more information from Haptic:

Inspired by the traditional Norwegian Tun, the Mountain Lodge on Sognefjorden is formed by a collection of five buildings gathered around a central space. Each building houses its own function and is arranged to address particular views, from a dramatic panorama of the Fjord to a sampled view of the surrounding mountain landscape.

The central space acts as the primary gathering point and accommodates some of the key day-to-day activities. The reception and bar is located here, with a good overview of each living space; lounge, dining room, breakfast room, upper kitchen, library and meeting room.

At the lower floor, partially cut into the landscape, are further guest facilities; spa and treatment rooms, swimming pool, gymnasium, cinema and games room. The lower floor also facilitates the back-of-house operations with kitchen, storage, wine cellar and plant. This floor can be accessed separately from the valley floor whilst providing access to the forest walkways that leads on to the cabins.

Eight individual cabins form the private areas and are carefully sited in the hillside. The cabins are located along two walkway axes. Traversing down the mountain towards the Fjord, these routes create a sense of remoteness, with each cabin placed discreetly amongst the forest and maximising the spectacular views. Each L-shaped cabin is designed to be flexible, with two bedrooms and a central living space that can be used as one or two units with a maximum capacity of 32 guests.

A simple and natural palette of materials is proposed to harmonise with the stunning setting, where the forest meets the Fjord. The lodge buildings, clad externally and internally in timber, provide inherent warmth and character to each space.

These are carefully composed pitched forms, with simple yet bold glazed openings to take in views. In contrast, the lower floor is formed in natural stone, providing a heavy plinth on which the timber buildings rest. The natural rock is to be partially exposed, squarely cut to show its texture, colour and natural details. This is used to great effect in the swimming pool, where the exposed rock meets the built stonewall, separated by a light slot.

The post Mountain Lodge on Sognefjorden
by Haptic appeared first on Dezeen.