Beached AS

Photo Credit: Dorte Mandrup , Renderings by MIR

On the rugged coasts of Andøya, barely 300km from the Arctic Circle, is the small town of Andenes. It isn’t visited by much, except the migrating whales who pass by its dramatic shores. To truly give people a chance to see them from dry land, Danish architecture studio, Dorte Mandrup has designed a structure simply called “The Whale” to be built into the landscape to allow them a place of shelter to watch the beasts as they pass by.

I’d be insulting your intelligence by describing how the parabolic form pays homage to the creatues it’s named after. But the interior is column free as the dome transmits its weight to three support points on the corners. This provides an open space with glass walls for uninterrupted views of the ocean.