LPO Architects and GrecoDeco create vast subterranean wellness retreat for Oslo

– Jarle Moen
Nordic Hotels & Resorts is creating an urban wellness retreat in Norway’s capital city of Oslo as part of its 231-room hotel project.
Owned by Norwegian hotelier Petter Stordalen, the luxury destination will be named Sommerro and welcome guests in the city’s Frogner neighbourhood as of September 2022.
Sommerro will be housed in a restored 1930s building – formerly the headquarters of the city’s original electrical company – and encompass Vestkantbadet, one of Norway’s last remaining public baths.
Nordic Hotels & Resorts is restoring Vestkantbadet to its former glory and growing it into an 8,000sq ft subterranean urban wellness retreat. Nordic Hotels & Resorts claims it will become one of the largest spas of any city hotel across the Nordic countries.
Drawing heavily on the building’s existing architectural character, Sommerro will pay homage to a fusion of neoclassical contemporary aesthetics with original elements that have been developed by local firm LPO Architects in collaboration with New York- and London-based studio GrecoDeco.
Art deco details will include oak parquet flooring, bespoke furnishings upholstered with 1930s Norwegian motifs and bathrooms with custom tiles.
Original artwork by Norwegian artist Per Krohg will be featured throughout the hotel, including a giant wall fresco and a ceiling mural that nods to the building’s heritage.
Open to hotel guests and the public, Vestkantbadet will include restored Roman baths, twelve treatment rooms, a cold plunge pool and a 1,400sq m gym with an infrared sauna.
Spa programming highlights will include a traditional Nordic thermotherapy experience.
Meanwhile, the hotel is set to be transformed into a modern tribute to Norwegian cultural heritage inspired by 1930s art deco style with a strong focus on wellness, social spaces and eco-conscious experiences.
The heart of Sommerro’s social offering will be its year-round rooftop terrace, complete with a restaurant and pool deck where light bites will be served in the summer and, during the colder months, in-sauna treatments can be enjoyed.
The hotel – complete with 56 branded residences – will also boast four restaurants, three bars, a 200-seat gilded theatre and meeting and event spaces for up to 150 people.
“Our vision is to redefine Oslo’s hospitality landscape by creating a new kind of hotel built on Frogner’s classic and creative neighbourhood spirit,” says Jarle Moen, managing director of Sommerro.
“Made by the local community, Sommerro will be an open house for all where visitors and locals can work, sleep, eat, play and recharge.
“Together, we’re creating an inspiring space where kindred souls and culture-makers can gather in cosy corners or pop by for a range of experiences from intimate gatherings and work meetings to late-night movie screenings and wine tastings in our library.”
As the newest independent venture by Nordic Hotels & Resorts, Sommerro will enhance the group’s commitment to eco-sustainability through a variety of on-property practices and amenities, from what dishes are served at each restaurant to the materials used to design and construct the guestrooms and property as a whole.
Nordic Hotels & Resorts LPO Architects GrecoDeco

Swedish architects Wingårdhs create year-round resort with waterpark and hotel for Liseberg

Juneteenth Museum by Bjarke Ingels Group has been designed to inspire spiritual uplift

BIG and HOK's timber concept wins Zurich Airport competition

Christoph Ingenhoven reveals Lanserhof Sylt, featuring the largest thatched roof in Europe

BIG's designs Prague concert hall to be vibrant centre of life

Mather & Co-designed Gretna Green Experience opens to the public

Project to save last major bellfoundry which cast bells for St Paul's and Washington National Cathedral

Perkins & Will reveals designs for net-zero sports and cultural centre in Toronto

World’s first living waterslides announced for Therme Manchester

Heatherwick reveals Volcano-inspired opera house designs for Hainan

Natural history museum planned for Abu Dhabi

Controversial London music venue, MSG Sphere, gets full planning permission

Clifford's Tower opens to the public after £5m redevelopment

Clifford's Tower opens to the public after £5m redevelopment

Glasgow's iconic Burrell Collection reopens after five-year, £68.5m revamp

SB Architects delivers Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Costa Rica with tree-house spa and private residences

Ole Scheeren designs vertical jungle resort complex in China

Designer Brian d’Souza launches Swell to create evocative soundscapes for physical environments

Basalt Architects create geothermal Forest Lagoon in the wilds of Iceland

Hot Pickle design £73m Guinness visitor attraction for Diageo in London

Amsterdam's new digital art centre Fabrique des Lumières will use tech to bring art alive

Pharrell Williams to launch tropical Bahamian beach resort

Banyan Tree curating solar-powered wellness retreat on private Mozambican island

Dubai Expo hits 10 million visits

Foster + Partners designs Dorchester Collection's first hotel in Middle East

Neil Jacobs reveals Six Senses Places concept for major cities

Orient Express returns to Italy after 46 years with six trains designed by Dimorestudio and new Rome hotel

400-year-old mineral spring will power Preidlhof’s €2m medicinal bath experience

Universal Beijing Resort reveals expansion plans for second phase

Pop-up stadium built with shipping containers opens ahead of 2022 World Cup
From parks designed to mitigate the effects of flooding to warming huts for one of the world’s coldest cities, these projects have been designed for increasingly extreme climates