TRAVEL INSPIRATION
The future-forward Norwegian firm Snøhetta is designing the world’s first energy-positive hotel in the Arctic Circle. The Svart Hotel due to open on a fjord beneath the Svartisen Glacier in 2022 will generate more solar energy than it uses through photovoltaic cells, as well as enough to cover its construction. The striking circular building will use 85 percent less energy than comparable contemporary hotels. The design is low-impact, the construction based on local materials to the extent possible, and subject to rigid sustainability criteria.
‘In the future, zero-energy hotels should be the absolute minimum,’ says Snøhetta architect Kristian Edwards. The plan is for Svart to go off-grid within five years of operation. This means that the hotel including its adjacent services, including the farm and the boat shuttles, will be completely self-sufficient in terms of electricity and waste management
Svart will be open to overnight guests, day-visitors, and to the local community.