From Hytte to Hytte: Fuglemyrhytta

After hiking around Jotunheimen National Park for a week, Federico and I returned to Oslo. We spent our first night back in the city in a hytte called Fuglemyrhytta. If you take the tram to the Frognerseteren Station in the northwest part of the city, Fuglemyrhytta is a roughly 20 minute walk from the station into Oslomarka (the name of the forest surrounding Oslo). Fuglemyrhytta was designed by the architecture firm Snøhetta and opened to the public in September 2018. It is an unmanned, self-service cabin that can be opened with the standard DNT key. Fuglemyrhytta is part of a new wave of hytter that feature contemporary architecture with big windows and nontraditional geometries.

Fuglemyrhytta sits on a hill in the forest outside Oslo

Upon entering Fuglemyrhytta, one thing I noticed right away was how grand the main communal space is. The ceiling is 18-20 feet high at its apex. The room features a south-facing floor-to-ceiling window that frames a spectacular view out over the treetops to the city of Oslo and the Oslofjord below. With the older construction materials and methods utilized in more traditional hytter, it would be difficult to keep such a room warm. Heat would escape through the large window very quickly, and any that remained would rise to the top of the volume creating a rather chilly environment for the occupants down below; the space would have been completely impractical for Norway's cold northern climate. But with new types of windows (multiple-pane instead of single-pane) and new highly insulated synthetic materials used in the building envelope, it is possible to keep the space comfortably warm. Like other hytter, the only source of heat in Fuglemyrhytta is a wood-burning stove. The large column-free span and pentagonal section of the room is also atypical. Snøhetta utilized CLT (cross-laminated timber) panels, a rather recent construction innovation, to realize the space in a way that is structurally elegant.

The large panoramic window is an interesting development that really affects the experience of the hytte. Instead of a primarily inward-focused experience that emphasizes rest/recovery and a temporary retreat from nature, at Fuglemyrhytta you are able to enjoy nature from within the hytte. Looking through the big window, you are cognizant of your place in the landscape and almost feel as if you are "out in nature" while having the added benefit of being sheltered from the elements. Instead of a point along a larger journey - like the other hytte we stayed in - Fuglemyrhytta very much is the destination. You do the short hike through Oslomarka so that you can sit in the community room and enjoy the view.

the view from Fuglemyrhytta's community room

Another factor that sets Fuglemyrhytta apart from traditional hytter is its close proximity to a large urban area. We arrived there on a Tuesday night and shared the cabin with three middle-aged women who lived and worked in Oslo. They explained that, for them, staying in the cabin is an enjoyable, quick retreat - a chance to have a nice dinner and sleepover with friends. All three had worked that day, and were getting up early Wednesday morning for another full day's work in Oslo. Pretty amazing right?!?! What a great resource for a large city to have! Also, like most hytter, a stay at Fuglemyrhytta is very affordable - between 20 and 30 dollars.

Federico and I discussed whether something like Fuglemyrhytta could work outside of New York City (where he lives) or Seattle. There is an important cultural element that is essential to the operation of every public hytte. In Norway, everyone treats hytter as if they were their own homes. They thoroughly clean them before they leave - sweep, mop, dust, etc. Most people pack trash out with them. Also, each hytte is equipped with a whole set of kitchenware along with other useful objects, and there is an underlying trust that none of it will be stolen. This is all just the expectation; there is a communal sense of ownership and responsibility for hytter that is engrained in Norwegian culture. Sadly, we came to the conclusion that the lack of a well-established cultural understanding may lead to the demise of similar places in the United States. Lodging that is so cheap (especially for the quality) would get used very frequently and, without dedicated people to maintain it, would probably fall into disrepair. Regardless, it would be an interesting experiment to construct a hytte on one of the islands in the Puget Sound to test out our theory. I would love to be proven wrong!

Snøhetta's design of Fuglemyrhytta includes some unique moments that I found to be appealing and really add to the experience of the cabin.

The "crow's nest" bed
The bedrooms in the cabin are long and narrow with tall ceilings to match the elevation of the large communal space. The extra height at the end of the room closest to the roof's apex is utilized to put an additional bed above the entry door. When first entering the room, right away I had the urge to climb up to that highest bed and see what the room felt like from the unconventional lofted space. The additional bed is successful from both a pragmatic standpoint (more people can sleep in the cabin) as well as an experiential one (its a fun place to hang out with an interesting perspective!).

crow's nest bed above the door

view from the crow's nest bed

The window seat
As seen in the first photo in this post, the pentagonal geometry of the cabin is framed with a series of wooden slats that protrude from the south façade. This both emphasizes the geometry and creates a large bench seat below the window on the cabin's exterior. This bench is a great place to sit outside and enjoy the view in nice weather or relax and read a book. The bench is dropped below the window so that, when sitting there, you won't obscure anyone's view from the interior - smart move!

wooden slats frame the south façade and form a bench below the window

With Fuglemyrhytta being so new, it was a little lacking in its "accumulated character" and interesting hyttebook stories. Overall, it was a beautiful space, but it felt markedly different from the other hytter we had stayed in. Personally, I think I prefer the more simple inward-focused experience of the traditional hytter. They seem to foster more social interaction for some reason... maybe without an amazing vista to focus on / take photos of, you focus more on one another. Also the traditional hytter feel very unique - something different from the existing wilderness lodging options we have in the U.S., whereas Fuglemyrhytta verges on feeling like an Airbnb with different logistics. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy my time at Fuglemyrhytta - it was delightful and relaxing, and I definitely think there is room for different types of hytte that serve different purposes. We'll see how my opinion changes with more stays in contemporary hytter to come!