Farris Bath

The modern spahotel Farris Bath was built on historical grounds, at HRH King Haakons’ “Farris Spring”. This natural source and the “Farris Mineral Water” became well known among doctors and wealthy people during the 19th century, for its positive health effect. It was sold both as bathing water and in bottles for drinking.

Farris Bad Spa Hotel is mainly designed and built with local manpower and raw materials (ex. local beech and “larvikitt” stone), and with great respect for both the local- and the global environment.

The building itself gives an impression of transparency, and is a great ambassador of Nordic engineering, architecture and craftsmanship. It seems to be floating in the air above the beach, streching its long arms out into nothingness.

The building has a rectangular shape, with an atrium that opens south towards The Larvik Fjord. It consists of two twofloored wings, and being perched on stilts, half the hotel is literarily situated "in" the water. Dividing the levels and lifting them up increases the sense of purity and closeness to nature which is the very essence of spa.

Mr. Øystein Rognebakke, Halvorsen & Reine Architects:
“The builders wanted as natural and environmentally safe building materials as possible, and thus it was natural to choose Kebony. But also the character and aesthetics of the wood was extremely important to us. The hardness and durability were also very important, as well as the fact that the kebonization process has made the wood very dimensionally stabile.
Kebony has an appealing colour, and fits great into the combination of materials chosen for this project. It is a natural element in the palette of colours, and gives an important aspect in the total impression of the building. We used Kebony in both the outdoor- and indoor cladding and had it special made for the indoor flooring".