“Zinc mining in the Almanna Canyon in Sauda, Norway, commenced in 1882 under extremely basic conditions.... The mine was closed in 1899....At about the spot where the ore used to be washed and a miners’ barracks once stood on a rocky outcrop, there is now a rest stop on National Highway 520....

Our project was commissioned by the Statens vegvesen, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, to commemorate the almost forgotten history of the zinc mine ... On taking a closer look, one can indeed discover traces of the canyon’s mining history: the transport trail beginning at the mine entrance and cut into the slope with supporting walls and bridges, the foundations of the wooden platform from which the ore was thrown down, and the remains of foundations for simple wooden structures that have since disappeared.

Our design works with these elements. It proposes a family of four structures, light wooden constructions along the old mine pathway. The modest open-air museum begins at the redesigned rest stop. Here we find the first member of the little family, a service building. Opposite the rest stop we have built a new flight of stone stairs which leads up to the former trail from the pit. A few more steps up the trail we come to the mining café....

After a further turn in the canyon pathway we come upon a shelter, a collection point where those who want to take a guided tour through the mine are given a helmet with a headlamp. Right next to this, visitors climb up to the mining museum, the fourth and last member of the family of buildings, ...”

Credits: - Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner - Atchitect - Peter Zumthor