This article was taken from the July 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
For three warm months each year, starting in July, it is safe to wander above Norway's Geirangerfjord using the elevated walking routes and lookout platforms designed by Oslo-based Reiulf Ramstad Architects. "It is one of the last places in the world where fjords still exist," says <span class="s3">head architect Reiulf Ramstad. <span class="s1">"We worked with limnologists who specialise in the biology and chemistry of inland waters to make sure we weren't harming the environment."
The team used a Super Puma helicopter to fly in 4,000kg of supplies and sourced extremely weather-resistant building materials. "We used COR-TEN steel, which corrodes quickly and allows the rust to protect the steel underneath," he explains.
The main challenge for the architects, however, was the climate: "The roads are only open three months a year because in winter the snow can be seven metres high. We set out the first handrail prototypes in autumn 2005 -- we couldn't find them the following spring, as an avalanche had wiped them out." Step carefully, now.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
