First and foremost, I wanted to find out how Fagrefjellet, which is located in my home village, could be made physically and sensorily accessible. I focused on people with visual and hearing impairments, whether these groups have any special requirements for them to be able to read, understand, sense and enjoy spaces and nature. I have questioned the current universal design of spaces and solutions, which seems to be overly focused on visual aspects and physical accessibility. I wanted to find out whether it is possible to achieve functional and universal solutions for all without sacrificing sensory and aesthetic qualities and our emotional needs. I have studied how important aesthetics really are, whether there is a limit to how inclusive our surroundings can be, and whether the universality ideology is actually utopian.
Nature's own materials, poetry and mystique! I have also studied modern Japanese architecture, which stands out with its distinctly experimental and radical forms of expression that nevertheless humbly accommodate and function in harmony with nature. I find this perfect combination of daring, beauty, aesthetics and functionality both attractive and inspiring.
Among other things, I discovered that aesthetics are about more than taste and visual ‘images’, they are also about sensory perception and emotions. These values will play an important role in architecture that enhances everybody's health and well-being, even when they are not seen.
A walking path through different installations and a shelter at the top of Fagrefjellet mountain, where the natural and subtle qualities of natural materials, such as daylight, darkness, moss and precipitation, have been highlighted and intensified in different ways that stimulate the senses and can be perceived with your whole body.
Everybody should have the possibility of accessing outdoor recreation and nature according to their wishes and needs. We live in a democratic welfare state where fairness and equality have long been important values, although there still seems to be some way to go, since all municipalities do not have accessible outdoor recreation areas. It is high time that we share these health-promoting resources and give everybody ‘a piece of the pie’ without large swathes of natural and cultural landscape being destroyed in the process. A form of adaptation that improves usability and perception value would be something that could benefit more groups in society, both the general population and tourists.