Skostredet Hotel in Bergen – a modern boutique hotel that will last forever

Natural materials, natural light, sustainability, and fresh and locally sourced food are all keywords that aptly describe Skostredet Hotel. Bergen's newest hotel will give you a feeling of everlasting quality. 

"I think you should build a hotel for the age in which you live. And if it's done right, it will be a classic in 100 years. And then it will be filled with fashionable people," says architect and designer Eero Koivisto.

Together with the architectural firm Claesson Koivisto Rune, he is involved in the relaunch of Skostredet Hotel. Located in the middle of Bergen's bar and restaurant district, Skostredet is a five-star boutique hotel, with a spa and both an Omakase and an Izakaya restaurant.

The Stockholm-based architects have been working with De Bergenske for over 10 years. But how did Eero & co get the job with De Bergenske, and how does an architectural firm proceed when tasked with building a new and modern hotel, while at the same time preserving history and sustainability? The answer is intriguing, but first we must look at how a series of coincidences made these Swedes the driving force behind a renowned architectural firm.

From random competition to global architectural firm

Eero has projects all over the world. From Italy to Japan and South America, and, not least in Scandinavia, including in Norway. His and his firm have been doing this for over 30 years, somewhat by chance.

"I thought I wanted to work with music and theatre. I was going to be a stage designer, but then I thought that I needed to have a job to fall back to, the School of Architecture sounded like a wise choice," says Koivisto.

It was during his studies that Eero Koivisto met his friends Ola Rune and Mårten Claesson. Together, they decided to participate in an architectural competition, which they won.

"In order to get the prize money, we had to set up a company, which we then named Claesson Koivisto Rune," says Koivisto.

Since then, the firm has been involved in building hotels, restaurants, and private residences all over the world.

Chinese vases and modern classics 

"What is trendy today is untrendy tomorrow. We have always thought long-term," says Eero.  

The architect and designer says he has maintained this perspective throughout his career. "When I teach, I usually pull up a picture from a museum in Germany. There is a large glass cabinet filled with vases. They are simple in yellow, red, and green colours. Then I ask the students - when do these vases come from? Everyone guesses that they are Scandinavian from the 1950s or '60s. The surprise is great when I tell them that the vases are from a Chinese dynasty – over 2,000 years old."  

Koivisto's point is that quality and the classic go hand in hand, including when it comes to architecture and design. This has been important for the work on Skostredet Hotel. Bergen's new four-star destination in many ways represents 'the new hotel', what hotels will look like in the future. Built to last.  

Traditionally, big hotel chains have built with a view to replacing things in the future. When he enters a hotel reception, Koivisto can immediately see what choices have been made. "These are cheap materials and solutions that they will demolish in a few years, before building something new. Everything often looks very similar, too, nothing separates one hotel from the next." 

Koivisto is fond of differences and believes that being unique makes hotels more interesting. And this is exactly what De Bergenske is good at.  

How Skostredet Hotel in Bergen city centre came to be

De Bergenske and Claesson Koivisto Rune have worked together for over 10 years.

"It all started when Kjetil Smørås (hotel director at De Bergenske) and his mother asked us if we wanted to participate in the competition for a hotel in Bergen. We won it, but it was a long and complicated project. When it was time to build, financing became a problem and work ground to a halt. But we kept in close contact and have always been friends."

Since then, Eero Koivisto and his team have worked on several projects with Kjetil and De Bergenske.

Work on Skostredet began in 2020.

"Kjetil called me when the Covid pandemic was going on and said he had been offered a building, and he asked me what I thought - could this be a hotel?" says Eero.

Kjetil and Eero sat down and began to discuss what a hotel is after the pandemic.

"We discussed how people work from home and how this affects what they need from a hotel. How can we meet the new desires? When we worked on Bergen Børs Hotel, we wanted to preserve the charm of the old building. But this time, with the new project, it was a new building. Personally, I'm not too fond of turning new buildings into old buildings. We wanted to create a modern hotel that integrated well with the city."

De Bergenske and Claesson Koivisto Rune kept returning to the natural and Nordic.

Nature, Nordic design, and harmony in one 

"We wanted to use natural materials to create an intimate atmosphere for the guests.  

The goal was to be modern, but in a Nordic way. We asked ourselves the question: What is good about the Nordic region? What makes the Nordic region unique? We had many conversations about making the hotel feel Nordic and Scandinavian, friendly and close to nature. We didn't want any plastic, just real materials like wood, leather, plants, and stone." 

At Skostredet, you can see plenty of greenery and beautiful plants, where the carefully chosen colours complement each other.  

"Light plays a super important role. We collaborate with a fantastic lighting designer - a scenographer who is a master of her trade. She is incredibly talented, and we often work with her to create the right atmosphere." 

Eero says that much of the light in the hotel is indirect, which makes the surroundings softer and more pleasant. In all the hotel rooms, the walls are completely clad in wood, behind which there is indirect lighting. 

"We use a very high light temperature, almost like candlelight, to create a pleasant atmosphere." 

No matter the colour chosen for the walls, floors or furniture, the natural element should be expressed. For example, the wood structure should always shine through the paint, and the textiles should feel real. 

De Bergenske is also genuinely concerned with being sustainable and thinking about the future. Among other things, it has chosen geothermal heating, as this is more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.  

At the back of the hotel, an oasis is created that can be enjoyed by hotel guests, and everyone else who is seeking Nordic nature.  

"There used to be a car park at the back. The entire block is owned by the same person, so we suggested removing the parking spaces altogether, and all the buildings and shops agreed."  

Eero says that this Nordic oasis will be a small piece of true Nordic wilderness, with raw nature – in the middle of Bergen city centre.   

Flowers and gastronomy for the guests 

Skostredet Hotel will be more than a hotel. It will also be home to a florist, sushi restaurant, Nordic nature garden, and, coming soon, a lovely spa.  

"When we started with Skostredet, we thought it would be exciting to work with symbols. People work in such a way that they read symbols see their own definition of them. We want to create a relationship between guest and symbol." 

Eero elaborates:  

"The tree is the very symbol of the hotel. It is the oldest thing in the world that is growing, older than human life. This hotel will last for generations. The fish symbolise the sushi restaurant but are also a reference to the sea. The leaf represents the park and the plants in every room, and the blue circle is the future spa and, not least, Bergen!