Borrowed Land / ACT! + Ask Holmen + CLAYA + Studio Winther

Architects: ACT!, Ask Holmen, CLAYA, Studio Winther
Area: 2,600 m²
Year: 2024
Photography: Armelle Breuil, Bruno Giliberto, Sophie König, Sophie Dorn
Typology: Art installation
Client: Færderbiennalen
Project Team: Ask Holmen; Armelle Breuil, Barbara Beetz, Elisa Berker, Rikke Winther
Volunteers: Maxwell Rodencal, Jona Weissgerber, Sophie Dorn, Alvar Elias Ekhougen Larsen, Malka Gadefait, Aleksandra Volfova, Viktoria Wiese-Hogrefe, Ilse Hviding, Stina Molander Skavlan
Location: Brøtsø Island, Tjøme, Norway

Borrowed Land, an installation by ACT!, Ask Holmen, CLAYA, and Studio Winther for the 2024 Færderbiennale in Brøtsø Island, Norway, examines the relationship between architecture, material sustainability, and environmental cycles. Using locally sourced clay and glacial stones, the installation is built with the rammed-earth technique, allowing it to gradually erode and reintegrate into the landscape. Positioned in the Brøtsø quarry, it creates a dialogue between the built and natural environment, reflecting the impact of extraction and human intervention. As one of Norway’s first rammed-earth projects in decades, Borrowed Land challenges contemporary construction norms and demonstrates the potential of earthen architecture in modern design.

Borrowed land / act! + ask holmen + claya + studio winther

ACT!, in collaboration with Rikke Winther, Ask Holmen, and CLAYA, won the open call for the Færderbiennale in April 2024 with Borrowed Land, an installation composed of rammed-earth columns. The Færderbiennale, an international festival dedicated to site-specific dance and architecture, was founded in 2022 by a collective of architects and performing arts curators in Oslo and Tønsberg. The 2024 edition took place from July 28 to August 10 at various sites in Tønsberg and Færder.

The installation addresses the relationship between architecture, climate change, and ecological depletion. By highlighting the finite nature of natural resources, it critiques extractive practices and proposes a more circular approach to construction. The project is made from clay and stones left behind by ancient glaciers, reinforcing a direct connection to the land. Designed to degrade naturally, the installation underscores the idea of borrowing materials rather than permanently extracting them, advocating for their return to the environment once their purpose has been fulfilled.

Earth, as a construction material, offers thermal regulation and fosters a deeper connection to natural surroundings. While one of the oldest building materials, it is often regarded as waste in modern construction. Borrowed Land seeks to reveal its structural and aesthetic qualities, challenging perceptions of its role in contemporary architecture. Through experiments with different compositions and densities, the installation demonstrates how rammed earth interacts with natural forces such as wind, rain, and sunlight. The project embraces the concepts of erosion and transformation, allowing time and climate to shape its form, creating an evolving architectural experience.

Located in the Brøtsø quarry, a former industrial extraction site, the installation establishes a dialogue between constructed and natural landscapes. The design reflects the geological layering of soil, shaped by time and human intervention. Using a method that compresses layers of earth to form structural elements, the project reinforces the idea that architecture is a temporary borrowing of materials from the land. Rammed-earth construction presents a viable and sustainable alternative to contemporary architecture. Much like how the installation’s columns integrate seamlessly into the quarry environment, earthen architecture has the potential to become a widely adopted building method. However, Borrowed Land does more than revive a historical technique it challenges conventional construction practices by demonstrating the adaptability and aesthetic possibilities of the earth as a primary material.

As one of Norway’s first rammed-earth projects in decades, this installation marks a significant step in reintroducing the method to the region. While rammed-earth buildings existed in Norway between the 1920s and 1970s, much of the technical expertise and infrastructure for the technique has since been lost. The team had to take on the roles of both architects and builders, sourcing materials, conducting tests, and fabricating specialized tools. After long, labor-intensive days in Norway’s unpredictable climate, natural erosion began to leave its imprint on the columns, reflecting the project’s core themes of circularity, material transformation, and impermanence.