The National Museum is seeking contributions for a conference on the cabin as architectural project, building task and social phenomenon in the post-war period. The conference is related to a major exhibition about the Norwegian architect Wenche Selmer (1920-1998), scheduled for 2026.
Wenche Selmer had a lifelong interest in what she called "the small wooden house" as a typology. Cabins, both in the mountains and along the coast, make up the core of her production, and the knowledge gained from these influenced her detached houses in more urban areas.
For the conference, we invite contributions that contextualize and discuss Wenche Selmer’s work by examining the cabin as both a historical and contemporary, Norwegian and international phenomenon. Both architectural history, cultural history, socio-economic, and anthropological perspectives are of interest.
Cabin history
The simple cabin, or holiday home, was a special building task for post-war architects in Norway. The cabin has a small, straightforward spatial design and provided architects with the freedom to cultivate the relationship between building, plot, and landscape, free from urban disturbances.
For many, the cabin symbolizes established holiday plans and ritual breaks from everyday life, with close-to-nature experiences and a simpler lifestyle. Paradoxically, this longing for nature led to large-scale interventions in natural areas in much of the Nordic region, where coastal zones and mountain areas were transformed from natural landscapes to cabin fields, requiring enormous infrastructures. This is one of the many paradoxes of the cabin, straddling the line between modernity and retrospection, between modesty and exclusivity.
Cabin architecture
Guidelines
Submit an abstract with a title and description of no more than 300 words to: selmer@nasjonalmuseet.no
The deadline for abstracts is 9 September 2024.
Please include the name of the proposer, position, and workplace.
Each presentation will last 20 minutes, and it is possible to speak in Scandinavian languages or English.
It is a requirement that you can participate in person.
Important Dates
09.09.24: Deadline to submit abstracts
04.10.24: Feedback to submitters
04.02.25: Deadline to submit PowerPoint presentations
25.02.25: Conference day
Evaluation committee
The contributions will be evaluated by a committee consisting of representatives from the National Museum and Henriette Steiner, PhD, Associate professor in landscape architecture and planning at the University of Copenhagen.
Questions?
Contact: selmer@nasjonalmuseet.no