Svart is the flagship product of innovative Norwegian digital building and tech company MIRIS, designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta. The project consists of a circular 100 room hotel north of the Arctic Circle which, due to its innovative energy-conscious design, will go off-grid within five years of operation. This means that the hotel, including the farm and the boat shuttles, will be completely self-sufficient in terms of electricity and waste management.

Svart Self-Sufficient Hotel

Svart will be a mini smart city that produces more energy than it uses. It will serve as a testing ground for technology and environmental solutions, both existing and those yet to be developed.

While we’ve seen other self-sufficient hotels, this will be the first hotel that won’t be reliant on guests to make a profit, but will measure their success by the sustainable technology they develop to be used in the hotel and implemented in other buildings around the world.

Located close to the Svartisen glacier, north of the Arctic Circle, in the Meløy municipality, Svart’s design is low-impact, the construction utilizes local materials whenever possible, and is subject to rigid sustainability criteria.

The hotel will be open to overnight guests, day-visitors and the local community and will include 100 rooms, an onsite education and design lab, and a sustainable farm to produce ingredients for the hotel’s four restaurants.

The destination will reduce the average yearly energy use by approximately 85 percent and produce more energy than it needs. The hotel’s circular shape will feature 360-degree views and create an experience of living in proximity with nature – in particular the glowing blue glacier it’s named after.

The ultimate goal is to create fully off-grid properties and communities that are self-sustainable: independent from the power grid, complete with their own waste management system and recycling of by-products.

images and information courtesy of Svart, MIRIS and Snøhetta.