Navigation

On the journey between the four structures the visitor experiences a certain theme in the landscape, a theme of traveling from sand to ice. The visitors experience a variety of materials and phenomenas in this otherwise flat and open field. But how do they navigate through this immense landscape?

When hiking the site the visitors are navigated by a system of large columns. The columns are placed with a kilometer distance between each other, where each kilometer marks the glaciers avarage retreat in a decade.

The lagoon started to emerge in the 1930´s, so the first column is placed where the edge of the glacier was at that time. That first column is a podium with the same footprint as every other column - a radius of 5 meters. A kilometer up north stands the next column, marked as 1940 on the site map, but it has been extended vertically by 10 meters. The same system follows up north where every column marking a decade has been extended by 10 meters until the visitor has reached the glacier where the columns are buried into the glacier. That means that as the glacier retreats the columns emerge from the landscape - getting more and more visable by time.

When looking up north towards the glacier the visitors will see how the columns create a shilouette that gradually rises towards the glacier as a reminder of how fast and rapidly the glacier has retreated.
The path between the columns is formed by gravel and pebble stones from the site. It blends smoothly with the surrounding yet making a gesture. The concrete columns are casted with the local black sand.

This bold intervention emphasizes the vast scale of the site. The columns who at one point look like thin columns from far distance are indeed like large buildings up close. They make each kilometer look shorter and more measurable interms of scale and time. More importantly they are easily distinct from the vast open field and easier to find in the harsh weather that often occurs without a notice.

Status: Academic Project - Master Thesis (Navigation)