Saunders Architecture, AS

Fogo Island Long Studio

Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg

FOGO ISLAND LONG STUDIO

Saunders Architecture

LOCATION
Bay Roberts, Canada

CATEGORY
Offices

YEAR
2009

AREA
120.0 m2

Fogo Island lies outside of Newfoundland, Canada and is home to a gentle, independent people who have lived for centuries between wind and waves in pursuit of fish. Fogo Islanders live in the untamed landscape of the North Atlantic. The people are subtle and unpretentious yet have seen their traditional way of life by threatened by forces largely beyond their control.

Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg

Fogo Island is an elemental place of subtle and abiding beauty – a place where time is not obliterated by the circulation of everything. Its people are inextricably bound to this place where they belong. They are a culturally rich and resourceful people who live in close connection with each other and with their people who have come before.

The Shorefast Foundation works with the people of Fogo Island to find ways to preserve this special place and this special culture. We have chosen to find new paths by leading with the arts.

Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg

We want to create structures that respect where we’ve come from and dignify this landscape that is so fragile yet so fearsome. We want structures that touch our imaginations and help maintain a connection between our past and our future.

THE LONG STUDIO

The concept of the long studio responds to the transition of the seasons. The studio is organized in a linear from that consists of three different spaces. An open but covered area representing the spring marks the entrance to the studio and the beginning of the seasonal activity.

Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg

The central portion is left open and mostly exposed to be fully immersed in all that is offered by the long summer days on Fogo Island.

The end and main body of the studio is fully enclosed to provide an area of protection and solitude from the outside environment while still providing a connection to the landscape through a strategically framed view of the dramatic surrounding.

Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg

The long linear structure of this artist studio maximizes the amount of open wall and floor space. Large windows at either end and a skylight on the roof of the studio allows the maximum amount of natural light to flood the space. We have made one of the walls 1m deep to house storage, toilets and washbasins, with doors that are flush to the wall, thus avoiding any visual distraction inside the space.

The studios are placed on pillars at the end towards the sea, while the entrance area has a small concrete foundation for anchoring the construction to the landscape. With this type of construction, the studios can be placed in almost any place on the island. In addition, this allows for the studios to be pre-fabricated in a local workshop during the winter months, and then placed in the landscape in the spring.

Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg


Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg
Fogo Island Long Studio
© Bent Rene´Synnevåg


Fogo Island Long Studio
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Fogo Island Long Studio
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Fogo Island Long Studio
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Fogo Island Long Studio
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Fogo Island Long Studio
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Fogo Island Long Studio
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Saunders Architecture, AS
T +47 948 22527
Saunders Architecture, AS
Vestre Torggaten 22, 5015 Bergen, Norway