Six Senses Svart is the first building to be designed and built after the highest energy-efficiency standard in the northern hemisphere. It will harvest enough solar energy to go back into the system, covering the hotel, adjacent operations, boat shuttle, and the energy needed to construct the building – rendering it independent from the power grid. Such energy-positive buildings could deliver 89 percent of the 45 percent decrease in emissions required to reach the scenario where global warming is limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. As such, Six Senses Svart is the northernmost implementation of the Paris Agreement, demonstrating that carbon neutrality can be not only feasible in a sophisticated development at an eco-sensitive site, but can also be profitable.
It will also be self-sustaining, complete with its own waste and water management, recycling, and renewable infrastructure. The team will work with existing sustainable fishing and farming operations and engage local like-minded suppliers for the restaurants and bars.
Taking its cue from the “fiskehjell” (an A-shaped wooden structure for drying fish) and the “rorbu” (a coastal fisherman’s cabin), Six Senses Svart will be constructed on poles, dissolving the boundary between land and fjord. The circular form is tactile, creating a feeling of openness and perpetual consciousness of nature as it gives the building a transparent appearance. The happy side effect is its ability to collect energy from the roof and offer panoramic views and privacy with the expanded distance between rooms. Craftsmanship will bring nature inside to form the modern and sustainable Scandic interiors, with corridor space filled with fun and quirky artwork, artifacts, and landscape follies, charting local heritage and creativity to bring a smile to the face.
Pioneering wellness is central to the Six Senses DNA, and this is an opportunity to innovate further, with each guest room becoming a wellness concierge through the Svart Touch concept. Non-invasive touchless technology will adapt the room to the guest’s state of mind and health, providing intuitive options to evoke a deeper sense of well-being.
Guests can lounge in the Experience Center, where materials will be light and raw, with local fabrics to tie ”the space to the place”. The Alchemy Bar will highlight the rich history of regional healing techniques by turning local flora and fauna into pampering scents and scrubs. As a center for engagement and innovation, the Earth Lab will serve as the sustainability outreach space, showcasing “lifecycle living” initiatives on and off the property. There will also be a Svart Design Lab, which will act as an incubator for innovation and education, for guests to understand how new technologies can bring the sector closer to carbon neutrality as part of a cradle-to-cradle hospitality offering.
The Marketplace will be the anchor, zero-waste dining venue, where the lines between food storage, prep, and dining are blurred to create an inviting and active environment (whatever isn’t eaten fresh from the farm may well get pickled). Six Senses filters and bottles its own drinking water throughout its properties, and Six Senses Svart will offer water and more to the door to reach its plastic-free goals.
Six Senses Svart is set to open in 2024.
