Nature therapy. Forest chambers from Snøhetta

/ Architecture /

Snøhetta architects announced the completion of work on an unusual project: wooden houses hidden in the forest - one hundred meters from the entrance to Norway's largest hospital Rikshospitalet, the other within the boundaries of the Sørlandet Kristiansand hospital campus - as an alternative to ordinary hospital wards.

"Outdoor therapy" is the name of the research project of the Oslo University Clinic and the Friluftssykehuset Foundation, designed to help patients, adults and children, overcome psychological discomfort caused by hospitalization and long-term treatment.

Photo: Ivar Kvaal

Two "forest chambers" with an area of ​​35 square meters each. each of them is made of darkened oak, which makes them practically invisible in the deciduous forest. The construction of asymmetric blocks gives forest shelters a resemblance to toy houses, similar to those that children make from plywood and wooden blocks.

Photo: Ivar Kvaal

"Nature gives spontaneous joy and helps patients relax. Staying in a natural environment calms and helps motivate patients to recover faster," says child psychologist Maren Estvold Lindheim, one of the initiators of the project.

Photo: Ivar Kvaal

Photo: Ivar Kvaal

Photo: Ivar Kvaal

Photo: Ivar Kvaal

Photo: Ivar Kvaal

The interior here is emphatically simple: minimalist built-in furniture and natural textiles. Panoramic windows can be fully opened, letting the sounds and smells of the forest into the rooms. In addition to the bedroom and bathroom, the forest ward has a room for medical procedures, but it is also strikingly different from sterile hospital interiors.