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propped up on massive steels rods drilled
into the rock bed so as not to damage
the immediate environ—across the
site. "The Juvet pioneered a sustainable,
conservation and ethical approach to
building a hotel in a wild spot of nature,"
explains Iain Ainsworth, founder of The
Aficionados community whose eclectic
emporium of exceptional and even
curious hotels include Juvet. "The concept
is as indigenous as the trees surrounding
it; in essence, it is straightforward," he
continues. "That thought allowed the
design and architecture to dialogue with
the surrounding nature rather than disturb
it."
The purity of the landscape extends to the
architecture itself—a series of modernist
pine and glass constructions (including
a few high-up Birdhouses modeled after
traditional Norwegian loghouses and a
larger four-bed chalet called the Writer's
Lodge). All are orientated toward a vivid
and stupefyingly view. "It's like being
a voyeur of nature," Ainsworth says of
these radically spartan environments.
That their dark-toned and elaborately
glassed interiors are rigorously minimalist
is not from aesthetic preference, but to
maximize inhabitants' connection to
both nature and the view. As evening
descends, the space morphs into a kind
of cocoon. "All you see is darkness and
stars," says Ainsworth, singling out a
sliding hatch situated at pillow level as a
particularly thoughtful touch that "enables
you to listen to nature as your sleep
under the duvet." A full immersion into
the landscape without leaving a lasting
impact.
Not all is modernist, at least in the
historical sense. The Barn, a century-
old farm building, was restored and
reimagined for new use: its former pigsty
is now the kitchen, its cow byre a dining
room, and its hay store an outdoor
lounge area. The hotel's conference
room, meanwhile, despite that staid and
ultimately unexciting classification, is
more of a spectacle than one expects:
6.2.23 | DIGS.NET 55
