The Torghatten nature path project has won the 2024 Landscape Architecture Award, presented by the Norwegian Association of Landscape Architects (NLA). The award celebrates Østengen & Bergo Landskapsarkitekter MNLA who won the award in partnership with the client, the Tourist Road Section of the National Road Administration, for skillfully balancing the protection of nature with increased accessibility. The project enhances the Torghatten site—a renowned natural attraction along Norway’s Helgeland coast—through careful landscape staging that blends with its surroundings, mitigating tourism’s impact and addressing environmental challenges. The jury praised the design’s seamless integration of safety, sustainability, and aesthetic appeal.

Østengen & Bergo AS also won 2023 NLA award with Voss Activity Park.

We asked Kari Bergo, a partner and managing director at Østengen & Bergo about what concept led the design, project challenges and cooperation with the local community.

Kari Bergo:

The famous “hole in the mountain” is a national tourist attraction with an international reputation. The spectacular “hole” is a cave that has broken through the mountain. Our strive has been not to ruin this wonderful experience with our man-made constructions, – and this has been our main focus in the 6 years we have worked on this project. From the very start, we emphasized that any construction should be subordinated to nature, even though the path had to be expanded considerably in width and be given a new route in several places. Our concept is to respect nature and allow the path to blend into the landscape in such a way that it looks as if the path has always been there. In addition, we wanted that all building interventions should enhance the different senses you meet along the trip. Our aim was also to make a circuit that included various sitting areas that could invite all generations and users to stay, wonder and learn, who in that way get even greater enjoyment of the area. It has now become a continuous circular trail of approximately 3 km.

We had a good dialogue with the municipality of Brønnøy along the way, who shared their local knowledge about the mythology, geology, history and cultural heritage of Torghatten. We then worked to implement this information when designing the project. Along the path, you will find various places to stay where you can enjoy the view or stop and read the small information signs that tell a little about the many nature and cultural qualities you find along the path.

The municipality also played a key role in sharing their experience with tourism and challenges with stormwater and landslides in the area, which were some of the most challenging parts to solve in the project. We have worked to make this stormwater, which before was a big problem, into something positive by leading it away from the path and into big natural stone channels. The path is no longer washed away, and the water is now a calming, beautiful, sound-creating element along the way.