Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel
Dutch designer Wouter Biegelaar used blocks of ice to sculpt a single piece of furniture for lounging, sleeping and dining inside a suite at the Icehotel in Lapland (+ slideshow).
![Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/01/dezeen_Iceberg-by-Wouter-Biegelaar-at-Icehotel_2.jpg)
The Icehotel is constructed afresh every year in the small village of Jukkasjärvi and is only open to guests for a few months before the walls of ice and snow begin to melt.
![Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/01/dezeen_Iceberg-by-Wouter-Biegelaar-at-Icehotel_3.jpg)
Each year a number of artists are invited to design and build a suite during November and December. This year, Wouter Biegelaar was invited for the first time.
![Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/01/dezeen_Iceberg-by-Wouter-Biegelaar-at-Icehotel_1.jpg)
He wanted to create "an iceberg in a soft environment", which prompted him to design a single icy object lit from within, incorporating a bed, a sofa and a dining table with two seats.
![Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/01/dezeen_Iceberg-by-Wouter-Biegelaar-at-Icehotel_5.jpg)
The arched walls and ceiling of the suite are covered with snow, sculpted to resembled the soft padded upholstery of a Chesterfield sofa.
![Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/01/dezeen_Iceberg-by-Wouter-Biegelaar-at-Icehotel_4.jpg)
"It was my first time working with ice and snow," the designer told Dezeen. "It was a really nice experience. You can work really fast with them. The best feature was that the materials have no grain or direction. Where a chisel would follow the grain in wood, in ice it's a direct result of how much pressure you apply, so it does exactly what you want."
![Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/01/dezeen_Iceberg-by-Wouter-Biegelaar-at-Icehotel_6.jpg)
Suites at the Icehotel can be rented privately for overnight guests but during the day each one also becomes a gallery that is open to visitors.
![Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/01/dezeen_Iceberg-by-Wouter-Biegelaar-at-Icehotel_7.jpg)
The hotel is now in its twenty-third year. Previous installations include a barrel-vaulted space with a bed surrounded by icy fins and an ice church.
![Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel Iceberg by Wouter Biegelaar at Icehotel](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/01/dezeen_Iceberg-by-Wouter-Biegelaar-at-Icehotel_8.jpg)
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