The philosophy behind the Hideaway

“Discovering that I, as a composer, could help the engineer in his challenges, and that the set designer could help me construct my music, was a change of direction in life.”

The idea behind Fordypningsrommet Fleinvær comes from an interdisciplinary workshop in Saltdal in the summer of 1995. The Hideaway’s founder,  Håvard,  had agreed to a week of parallel work with his friends Eskil and Merete. Håvard worked on music while Eskil turned his attention to creating a rotating water pump, and Merete tried to create cheerful scenography for Finnish theatre.

The three disparate activities merged, with inspiration for each person’s project  coming from two other artists, and artistic viewpoints. Difference created inspiration, and with it the realisation that innovations in architecture, music, economics or values can never come from the echo chambers of the professional communities.

It is only in interdisciplinary clashes that society moves towards the richest inspiration of innovation. The architecture of the immersion room Fleinvær is shaped by that summer meeting in Saltdal. We want creative people to meet. That meeting place is the Arctic Hideaway.

Why Fleinvær?

Håvard was struck by inspiration when he attended the opening of Susanne Lundeng and Are Andreassen’s studio in Fleinvær in 1998. He already had a deep connection and love for the area through his upbringing in the village of Inndyr, close by on the mainland. Susanne is one of Norway’s most identifiable folk musicians. AreA is an internationally recognised visual artist, with a main focus on graphics. Without these two, the Hideaway would not have been located on Fleinvær.

How many?

That depends on how much solitude or collaboration you want to enjoy.  If you are looking to collect your thoughts in solitude, then one person per sleeping house makes sense, and we could have four ‘deep divers’ at the same time. Everyone gets their own study and bedroom as well as access to a shared kitchen, bath house and sauna.

We have different working areas depending on your project, a light filled studio room which can be used for art, sculpture or music (with lighting, sound system and Yamaha Electronic piano). One of the sleeping houses has an office space, another a simple desk.

We can also offer guest studios at Are Andreassen during certain periods of the year.

We can house ensembles up to octets, and we have used the studio space to record music albums.

If you have a specific requirement, please get in touch to discuss this with Håvard.

Appropriate architecture

The architecture of the Arctic Hideaway is a respectful approach to both man and nature. It divides the separate functions of one building into many, causing you to experience nature as you pass from one room to another.  It is highly sensory in its form and materials, and promotes a stimulating balance between relaxation and re-connection.

As much a part of the experience is the natural world offering clear Norwegian air, an ever-changing cloudscape, lingering sunrise and sunsets, and of course the Northern Lights. The Lofoten wall rings the horizon to the north and west, while mountains fill the East, and to the South the islands recede towards the horizon and the open ocean.

Hotel request