Holvikejekta - An architectural experience 

Architect Ola Sendstad is behind the drawings and plans for the new Holvikejekta conservation and exhibition building. For Jul i Nordfjord a christmas magazine published by Nordfjord Museum of Cultural History, Sendstad wrote this article about the work and thoughts behind the project. 

I remember my first experience of Holvikejekta well. I came to Sandane in 2018 to begin work on the initial outline for a new conservation and exhibition building. I was able to enter the simple protective structure and get right up close. It is a wide boat. From the keel, the hull curves steeply outwards and forms a space above me. I touch the hull. With my fingers I feel how the rivets hold the wooden boards in place. I feel what it must be like to hammer them into the wood. The rivets form an even rhythm. The boards line up and follow the shape of the hull, lengthwise and upwards. They are dark and golden from old tar. My gaze is drawn towards the prow rising above me. When I get up above the ridge, I see the enormous volume the shape contains. Rationally designed to accommodate as much cargo as possible, I gather, but the thought is lost in the experience. 

In addition to my work as an architect, I run a small sawmill for niche and quality materials. I often bring design students to the forest and the sawmill, to convey how connections between material, production and construction provide the culture that we shape our surroundings from and in. Holvikejekta lends itself well to such insight, and with its various contemporary wooden structures and surfaces, I also see the building in such a context. The knowledge, effort and use of resources in the culture that was, are experienced through the jekt. She is large, robust, modest and beautiful. Holvikejekta is a guiding star for her building. 

Working on a conservation and exhibition building for Holvikejekta is rewarding. The jekt is a museum object that must be preserved, but in this case the underlaying features, the unique and original, fit very well with what immediately strikes us here and now – the shape, the material qualities and the details. Holvikejekta tells its own story well. We just have to let her do it.

Accessible 

The old conservation building was mostly a roof with mesh walls, with little space for dissemination. I was able to climb in to experience the jekt up close. The superstructure helped save the jekt for many years, but for the future it must be better protected against varying temperatures, humidity and sunlight. For exhibition purposes, the goal has been to let people have the architectural experience of getting close enough to feel the details, while leaving enough space to really see the shape, size and lines. Precisely because the jekt exists and has been preserved, we can truly experience it and not just convey the history around it. 

As an architect, I try to envision how a building for Holvikejekta can be experienced, function, and constructed, through grand visions and a limited budget. It is a close collaboration with the museum that has developed the project over time, gradually involving additional disciplines, including structural engineering, ship preservation, fire consulting, contractors and lighting designers. In 2022, financing was finally in place, and now the building is taking shape. 

There is something nice about the jekt being allowed to remain there, just like when it was last brought ashore at Øyrane. The new building takes advantage of qualities like proximity to the fjord, views and a southerly slope. At the same time, the building’s main function is to protect the jekt from sunlight, weather and spring tides. This has played a part in how the building is arranged, with the large jekt hall to the north and service and exhibition areas facing the fjord to the south. 

Design 

Externally, it is a long building perpendicular to the fjord. The lengths are largely solid, while the gables have large window areas facing the approach and the fjord at opposite ends. Visitors can glimpse the jekt through the windows when they arrive. The stern of the jekt will be illuminated outside opening hours. This facade slopes and leads visitors to the entrance down by the water and the new access pier. The entrance leads straight to the reception through a recessed porch area. 

The building is designed to be managed by a single employee. On one side of the reception there is a cloakroom and sheltered seating along the south-facing area with windows facing the fjord. On the opposite side, the room opens directly onto the impressive prow of Holvikejekta. In addition to the sunlight from the north, the high sloped ceiling is lit via a longitudinal strip of windows. The jekt sits freely inside the hall on the same floor surface as the visitors. You are immediately drawn towards the large hull. The jekt should no longer be experienced as closed or wrapped up. 

The structured building shape contrasts the organic shape of the hull, where visitors can walk right up to, under, along and around. Tactile proximity to the wood, tar, rivets and craftsmanship is facilitated. The layout first leads visitors up to and around the jetty. Then it continues up a ramp along the outer wall. The jekt is positioned to one side of the hall so as to leave enough space to experience the entire shape from the opposite side, before the ramp on the closer side takes you right up alongside the gunwale. Here you have the first chance to look down into the jekt, and offers the best place to experience its characteristic width. The ramp along the sloping facade provides variation in the visual experience of the jekt, while effectively providing enough length to reach the desired height. 

The ramp ends in a mezzanine floor at the southern part of the building. From the mezzanine you can see straight towards the prow, offering the best way to experience the full length of the jekt. Towards the back of the mezzanine there is an exhibition area for three traditional boats: the five-masted Fitjekyrkjebåten, the four-masted Ryssdalskyrkjebåten and the Sandefæringen. We see them in connection with the design, materials and craftsmanship of the jekt. 

A core made from solid wood supports the large jekt hall made of glued laminated timber frames. The core houses technical functions in addition to stairs and an elevator, which can take you down to the ground level or up to a third level. The third level is a narrow gallery that runs the entire length of the building. The gallery provides a full overview of the jekt and the other boats on display. From here you also get a view of the fjord and the Sandane town centre. 

On the outside, the walls will be clad in burnt pine cladding, a traditional technique for preserving the wood without any other surface treatment. From a distance, the dark cladding emphasizes the strict shape, while up close it provides great variation and expresses the quality of the wood. Indoors, the building uses light wood materials, set against the dark patinated jekt. The glued laminated frames are visible, and I would say magnificent, with light birch panels between them. The ground level floor is polished concrete. The core, mezzanine, ramp, gallery and gable wall to the north are made from solid wood. This last gable wall will be hoisted into place to close the structure once we have safely wheeled the jekt inside. It will ultimately rest on pieces of wood on the concrete, while the shape, which was previously held in place by a forest of slanted wood supports, will hang from steel cables from the ceiling beams. This will allow us to get right up close and follow the shape of the jetty. 

Overall, the conservation and exhibition building will be simple in character – where Holvikejekta is always at the centre – while offering architectural qualities worthy of the jekt and the experience of it. I think we are on the right track now. 

Once we are done, the outdoor landscape will connect with the fjord and shoreline as a sloping natural beach meadow – a nature restoration that I think suits the project well. Towards the fjord, the building will be protected and anchored by natural stone walls. Perpendicular to the entrance there will be a wide access pier, raised above the beach meadow on piles. This summer and into the future, we will be able to enter the new jekt experience from this pier.