On the Edge of the World
On the Edge of the World
Todd Saunders
Fogo Island
Zita Cobb, who started Shorefast, worked in high tech, then returned home to Fogo. A four-story block with guest rooms intersects a two-story wing with a dining room, library, bar, and art gallery.
Photo By Iwan Baan
On the Edge of the World
Todd Saunders
Fogo Island
Like many local houses, the Fogo Island Inn sits on piles (“shores,” in local parlance) to reduce its impact on the land.
Photo By Iwan Baan
On the Edge of the World
Todd Saunders
Fogo Island
Triple-glazed, argon-filled windows and heavy insulation keep the dining room and other interior spaces comfortable in the 40,000-square-foot inn.
Photo By Iwan Baan
On the Edge of the World
Todd Saunders
Fogo Island
Designers from North America and Europe worked with Fogo craftspeople to create furnishings for the guest rooms and other interiors. “Strange and familiar” is a common local expression, says Saunders. “And we tried to capture that here.”
Photo By Iwan Baan
On the Edge of the World
Todd Saunders
Fogo Island
The steel-frame, concrete-slab structure is heated by wood-burning boilers, taking advantage of a local resource. Solar panels on the roof of the inn and an adjacent services building supplement energy from the grid.
Photo By Iwan Baan
Todd Saunders
| Photo By Iwan Baan |
Canadian-born, Norway-based architect Todd Saunders returned to Newfoundland to design a 29-room inn on tiny Fogo Island. His client, the nonprofit Shorefast Foundation, employs local craftspeople and workers to establish a new economic base for an “outport” community once dependent on fishing and shipbuilding. The inn combines green-design strategies and vernacular forms to create a dramatic retreat that makes a profound connection to a rugged place.
