Small-Scale Charm: Q&A with Claesson Koivisto Rune

 

Zander K, for example, is formed of three buildings – a restored bike shop that dates back to the 1920s, a former garage from the same era, and a newly erected building – and is inspired by the 266 days of rainfall that Bergen experiences each year. Elsewhere, Villa Terminus, the smallest hotel in the De Bergenske collection, boasts a late-Baroque exterior coupled with an interior that encompasses designs spanning almost 70 decades, from the 1950s to present day. Although refreshing in their diversity, the five hotels share a consistent design sensibility. Both Zander K and Villa Terminus were designed by Stockholm-based architecture and design practice Claesson Koivisto Rune and the designs that feature in the hotels include pieces by Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec, Ilse Crawford, Arne Jacobsen, Samuel Wilkinson and David Chipperfield. 

For De Bergenske, “expansion is not a target in itself. It is more important that each hotel allows its guests to expand their horizons during every single visit.” This sentiment makes for an eclectic collection of hotels: each rousing in their ambition to tell new stories about the city. 

 

Following the opening of Zander K in June, Zetteler caught up with Eero Koivisto, one of three founders of Claesson Koivisto Rune. In the interview that follows Eero speaks of his love for Bergen – the unrivalled view of the mountains from the aeroplane, the city’s thriving creative community and its “small-scale charm” – as well as their vision for Zander K, and the challenges that come with designing a hotel. 

Despite it being the second largest city in Norway, Bergen somehow feels like a village. Almost everything is within walking distance. Bergen therefore has a certain cosiness to it.

 

The city is situated in a fjord with houses climbing up the sides of the mountains that surround it. It appears particularly dramatic when looking down upon it when arriving by aeroplane and equally dramatic in the dark, when the lights in all the houses rise vertically up the mountainsides.  

 

The high quality of the University of Bergen’s design department turns out equally high quality and talented students. Easy.

Like all Scandinavian cities, Bergen is a throughly modern city, but unlike most of them, it has still managed to keep a small-scale charm.

 

There is a whole new generation of genre-ignoring talented musicians who are educated at the world-class Bergen Conservatory of Music. These musicians are making their mark on the international contemporary music scene across jazz, classic, and electronic music.

 

We wanted the hotel to feel like Bergen. Nice, friendly, modern, and somewhat modest in scale. The hotel is located in three visually different, but fully connected buildings: the beige bike shop building, that dates back to 1928; the white parking garage, that was built a decade later; and finally the brand new blue building which, freshly built in 2017, which houses the hotel entrance. Only the facades of the older buildings were kept and two new extra floors were discreetly added on top of these. Most of the hotel’s interior has been newly built, but instead of making it look like one big building, we opted to downscale it visually into three smaller volumes. This was done to resonate with the small size of Bergen. We really like the fact that the hotel appears much smaller than it actually is.

We define modern as something that exists together with society in a conscious way. In a hotel it’s something that makes your life easier, and because of that, make you feel more relaxed.

 

To make a brand new contemporary hotel feel homey without putting a fake old-looking interior in it.

 

Bergen is world famous for its yearly rainfall, almost to the extent that you expect it to rain when visiting. The truth is, even if it rains often, it’s usually for a very short time. There’s a lot of sun as well. We thought that by embracing this well known fact we could give a unique angle to the project. Honestly, what’s nicer than being inside a cosy hotel with a glass of red wine in your hand, while looking at the rain outside? We think that there’s a somewhat romantic touch to it. 

Bergen, like the rest of the world, is becoming more glocal. It’s becoming more personal and less corporate. De Bergenske’s hotels fit this new environment perfectly.

 

In this order: 

1. Go to the top of Fløien mountain. 

2. Walk around in the old Bryggen part of the city.

3. See a concert at Grieghallen concert hall. 

4. Try the Grand Terminus whisky bar. 

5. Sleep in one of De Bergenske’s hotels