An estate in development · Nordfjord, Norway
Little Hooves is a planned five-star hotel and spa on an old hillside farm in Nordfjord, built around a rescue for Norwegian Fjord horses. The estate is designed as a quiet place to stay, eat, unwind and experience the landscape. Nothing has been built yet, and the opening date is to be announced.
Artist's impressions. Layouts, areas and finishes may change during construction.
The estate
Little Hooves is planned as a five-star hotel in Norway shaped by its setting rather than separated from it. The estate will sit on an old farm on a hillside in Nordfjord, where the pastures run down to the water and the mountains close in behind. Generations of haymaking and grazing shaped this kind of land, and the design is meant to keep that shape readable: the lodge will follow the contour of the slope, and the new Great Barn will take the place and proportions of a traditional red barn.
The organising idea is the paddocks. The Little Hooves Rescue, a planned home for older and rescued Norwegian Fjord horses, will take the best south-facing land, and everything else will be placed around it: rooms and suites with fjord views, three restaurants and bars, a bathhouse with pools and saunas, quiet lounges, terraces and flexible event spaces in the barn.
The architecture will borrow from the farm buildings of western Norway: tarred black timber, turf roofs and local stone outside; oak, wool and linen inside. We would like a five-star hotel in Norway to feel as though it belongs to its valley, and we would like guests to notice the weather, the light on the water and the horses in the field before they notice the hotel.
The heart of the estate
The Little Hooves Rescue is planned as a permanent home for older and rescued Norwegian Fjord horses. It gives the estate its name, and it is the part of the project we care about most. The fjord horse is an old, hardy breed whose history is closely tied to western Norway, and Nordfjord has long been one of its home districts. Day-to-day care will be led by qualified grooms, working with a veterinary partner to be announced. The rescue will operate under Norway's Animal Welfare Act (Dyrevelferdsloven) and the supervision of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet), with its own team and routines that will not depend on how busy the hotel is.
The horses will not be an attraction. There will be no rides for guests, no photo sessions and no feeding by visitors. Stable routines and daily quiet hours will be set by the grooms and the vet, and the paddocks will close to guests whenever the horses need rest.
Guests will be able to watch the paddocks from footpaths and terraces at a respectful distance. Closer visits will only take place with a groom, in small groups, and only when the horses are settled and at ease.
Winters in Nordfjord are long and wet. The rescue is designed with a stable, open field shelters, frost-free water and hay stored on site, so each horse can move freely between shelter and pasture. The plan allows for up to 14 horses, so that every animal gets space and attention.
Artist's impressions. Layouts, areas and finishes may change during construction.
Gallery
A first look at how the estate could feel through the year, from misty mornings on the fjord to winter evenings by the stove. Select an image to view it larger.
Artist's impressions. Layouts, areas and finishes may change during construction.
The vision
Little Hooves began with a simple question: what would a luxury resort in Norway look like if it were designed around care rather than spectacle? Our answer is a farm estate hotel built around a rescue for fjord horses, where the daily rhythm of the paddocks sets the pace for everything else.
That idea shapes the architecture. The buildings are planned in local timber and stone, low enough to sit below the tree line and turned towards the water. Turf roofs, tarred walls and old farm proportions should let the estate feel like part of the valley within a few seasons, rather than a new object set down in it.
It also shapes how we intend to work with the region: hiring locally where we can, buying from neighbouring farms and keeping the shore open and quiet. Done well, Little Hooves could become a Norwegian coast resort that the people who live nearby are glad to have next door.
We would rather build a quiet place that earns its valley than a loud one that merely occupies it.
