Leisure: The creative process behind 'Winter Village' - the world's largest indoor ski arena

In September, our scheme 'Winter Village' in Lorenskog, Norway, was granted planning constent. When built this will make 'Winter Village' the world's largest indoor ski arena.  Designed for both cross country, free skiing and downhill skiing, it will also be Norway's first indoor ski arena.

This ground-breaking 140,000 sqm scheme will house a 37,000m2 ski resort. The cross-country trails will be built over three floors giving skiers a total of 3,000 metres of cross country skiing. The facility will also include a conference hotel with 350 rooms, a service centre for skis and equipment, service rooms for clubs and teams, classrooms and offices, as well as commercial premises, and a sports academy for Norwegian ski sports.

Jan Dijkema, a Director from our Chapman Taylor studio in Madrid, has designed the masterplan in collaboration with the renowned Norwegian architect Prof. Thomas Thiis-Evensen.  

We recently talked to Jan about the creative process behind the development of Winter Village ...

How does the creative process start for a scheme like this?

Meeting the enthusiastic people from Selvaag (our client) to listen to their ideas and aspirations. Visiting the site to study the location, topography and surrounding features such as barns, the forest, railway and motorway.  This then allows us to prepare several masterplans and massing studies matching Selvaag's surroundings, including a study for the minimization of earth movement, that combines the clear aspirations of Selvaag with our practical experience of designing a covered Ski facility.

What experience does Chapman Taylor bring to the table?

In addition, to having concept designed a number of Snow Dome projects, we have previously designed and delivered the very successful Madrid Snowzone at Madrid Xanadu Retail and Leisure Centre. Besides this, we have extensive experience in designing indoor & outdoor commercial retail areas, offices, hotels and combining these elements into complex mixed-use environments. The Winter village layout was also enriched by our experience of designing large-scale masterplanning projects, for which we are a world leader. 

This experience helped us rapidly sketch layout options, in terms of ski slopes positioning vs topography, space planning of the warm support areas and optimization of the public circulation and private areas. Our experience also helped us anticipate design needs through our early discussions with the client on operational & maintenance issues.

Why did you want to take part in this project?

This is one of the most exciting projects in the field of sports facility design in the World and, in particular, in the winter sports. It is a very exciting opportunity to design a new Snowdome and Cross-country skiing facility in the home of Nordic Skiing.  The project from the outset presented a very interesting opportunity for us to explore new architectural styles and layouts. In addition, the integration of the Snowdome within a multi-use complex (winter village) offers designers like us the opportunity to create a world-class modern winter-style sports and leisure environment. Our design is also enriched by the experience of working closely with architect and professor Thomas Thiis-Evensen, who I found inspiring, creative, constructive, and equally enthusiastic about the Winter Village project.

For more information, contact:
Jan Dijkema
jdijkema@chapmantaylor.es