The glass-fronted property will be built on stilts, at the base of a glacier / Photo: Snøhetta_Plompmozes_Miris
Immersed in the Norwegian wilderness, the world’s first energy-positive hotel and spa – Svart – will open in 2024 as a Six Senses resort, following the signing of an agreement between the operator and the hotel’s owner, Svart Eiendom AS.
The circular glass-fronted property will be built on stilts and hover above the clear waters of the Holandsfjorden, at the base of the Svartisen glacier. The word Svart means black and blue in old Norse – a reference to the way the light plays on the glacier through the long Arctic winters and summers.
Designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, with interiors overseen by Space Copenhagen, the aim is for Svart to be fully carbon-positive, including zero waste to landfill within the first five years of operation. The team is also working to ensure the 94-room hotel is built with a minimal environmental footprint.
Six Senses has earned a reputation as one of the most sustainably-minded hospitality brands on the market, thanks to its dedication to integrating sustainability throughout its operation – including its spa operations.
Wellness is ingrained deep within Six Senses’ philosophy and the brand has plans to ensure wellness will be the beating heart of the destination.
“Building a unique environment through cutting-edge design and superior craftsmanship comes with clear obligations, so creating a sustainable destination through an optimised resort operation requires us to collaborate with the right partner,” said Ivaylo Lefterov, Svart development director.
“Six Senses shares the same ethos and ambition, to redefine bespoke travel through technological innovation, a carbon-neutral approach, ground-breaking design and an exceptional guest journey.”
Integrative wellness In line with the nature-first ethos behind the property, Six Senses Svart will house an indoor-outdoor spa, which will allow guests to soak up the benefits of the stunning backdrop. The spa was originally designed by consultant Felicity Leahy, and is now being fine-tuned in line with Six Senses’ approach.
Wellness at the property will extend beyond the walls of the spa and fitness centre to become an integrated experience. Svart plans to cover the ‘full gambit’ of integrated wellness, from compression boots and vitamin IVs in the biohacking lounge, to all-round wellness in the sensory treatment suites.
Guests will also enjoy state-of-the-art fitness equipment and wearable tech integration, including a specially-developed Svart Touch wellness concierge concept that Six Senses says will “further elevate the brand’s wellness approach”.
The new technology will be integrated into each guest room and delivered via non-invasive touchless consoles. It’s claimed the platform will adapt the room to the guest’s state of mind and health, providing intuitive options to evoke a deeper sense of wellbeing.
Six Senses Svart will have four restaurants – including an interpretation of Six Senses’ Marketplace concept – and an Alchemy Bar highlighting the history of the region.
A centre for engagement and innovation, the Earth Lab at Svart will serve as a sustainability outreach space, showcasing lifecycle living initiatives on and off the property.
There will also be a Svart Design Lab, which will act as an incubator for innovation and education for guests to better understand how new technologies can bring the hospitality sector closer to carbon neutrality, as part of a cradle-to-cradle lifestyle hospitality offering.
Space Copenhagen – founded in 2005 by Peter Bundgaard and Signe Bindslev Henriksen – has designed the hotel in its signature style of ‘Poetic Modernism’
Henriksen said: “The design aesthetic does not seek to mimic or filter the magnificence of the Norwegian landscape, but to be a humble backdrop to it. The building itself – an unbroken, seamless circle – will become a portal dedicated to enhancing human connection to nature, the seasons and to time itself”.
The design vision for Six Senses Svart is influenced by a ‘fiskehjell’ (an a-shaped wooden structure for drying fish) and the ‘rorbu’ (a coastal fisherman’s cabin).
A project of firsts CEO of Six Senses Neil Jacobs said: “Sustainable properties call for extraordinary creativity, and Six Senses Svart – our first property in Scandinavia – takes us to a whole new level in terms of pushing boundaries.
“The concept has become bigger than the project itself, as it will provide a futuristic showcase for what can be achieved in terms of sustainability and energy solutions, and therefore a blueprint within our hospitality industry and the development sector in general.”
Six Senses says the building will harvest enough solar energy to power the hotel, adjacent operations, the boat shuttle, and the energy needed to actually construct the building – rendering it independent from the grid.
“Such energy-positive buildings could deliver 89 per cent of the 45 per cent decrease in emissions required to reach the scenario where global warming is limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels,” says Jacobs.
“As such, Six Senses Svart is the northernmost implementation of the Paris Agreement, demonstrating that carbon neutrality can not only be feasible in a sophisticated development at an eco-sensitive site, but can also be profitable.
“The project has been a long time in the planning to make sure all parts of the operation support the vision from the start, rather than being bolted on as an afterthought,” said Jacobs. “The result will set a new standard in carbon-neutral travel.”
Leading by example Six Senses believes the operation at the destination will inspire guests and raise awareness of the possibilities of regenerative travel and the importance of the polar region, in partnership with the local community. It states that inherent in the project is the commitment not to compromise the fragile and pristine glacial surroundings or the property’s beauty and quality.
Photo: SIX SENSES
"Sustainable properties call for extraordinary creativity" – Neil Jacobs, CEO Six Senses
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2022 issue 2
Editor's letter: The wellness metaverse
We’re being handed a powerful new tool that will become a channel for creativity and innovation – pioneering wellness operators are already getting to grips with its exciting potential
Spa People: Michael Stusser
The wellness pioneer explains how he created an authentic Japanese bathing experience in the heart of the California hills
Spa People: Scot Toon
The Asia MD of The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts unveils the company's latest island development plans
Project preview: Off-grid
Svart Six Senses is set to open in Norway in 2024, and redefine the meaning of sustainable wellness tourism and regenerative travel
Sponsored: Myrtha Wellness: watertight expertise
Myrtha has transformed the world of aquatics over the last 60 years. Now it’s bringing its ingenuity-driven expertise to the international wellness industry
Interview: Rainer Usselmann
Tech business Happy Finish is bringing metaverse-based experiences to the wellness sector, working with Wund
Everyone's talking about: Menopause
From taboo to hot topic – how can spas offer treatments and a safe space for women to explore this often challenging phase of life?
Research: Bounceback
PwC says the US spa market was worth US$1bn in 2021 and growing well, according to data from ISPA's latest industry-wide study
First person: An icon reborn
Fairmont unveils the stunning renovation of its iconic Century Plaza hotel in LA, and Rianna Riego checks out the new spa
Q&A: Magdaleena Nikolov
The GM of spa, wellness and retail at Fairmont
Century Plaza talks to Jane Kitchen
Q&A: Mia Kyricos
The wellness leader talks about the creation of her new trademarked framework for the development and delivery of wellness interventions
Sponsored: Art of Cryo: raising the bar
Art of Cryo is complementing its high
performance cryotherapy range with advanced
new technology to enhance treatment benefits
Mystery Shopper: The Londoner
Our reviewer travels undercover to check out the spa offering at The Londoner – one of the most high profile openings in the capital in recent times
The glass-fronted property will be built on stilts, at the base of a glacier / Photo: Snøhetta_Plompmozes_Miris
Immersed in the Norwegian wilderness, the world’s first energy-positive hotel and spa – Svart – will open in 2024 as a Six Senses resort, following the signing of an agreement between the operator and the hotel’s owner, Svart Eiendom AS.
The circular glass-fronted property will be built on stilts and hover above the clear waters of the Holandsfjorden, at the base of the Svartisen glacier. The word Svart means black and blue in old Norse – a reference to the way the light plays on the glacier through the long Arctic winters and summers.
Designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, with interiors overseen by Space Copenhagen, the aim is for Svart to be fully carbon-positive, including zero waste to landfill within the first five years of operation. The team is also working to ensure the 94-room hotel is built with a minimal environmental footprint.
Six Senses has earned a reputation as one of the most sustainably-minded hospitality brands on the market, thanks to its dedication to integrating sustainability throughout its operation – including its spa operations.
Wellness is ingrained deep within Six Senses’ philosophy and the brand has plans to ensure wellness will be the beating heart of the destination.
“Building a unique environment through cutting-edge design and superior craftsmanship comes with clear obligations, so creating a sustainable destination through an optimised resort operation requires us to collaborate with the right partner,” said Ivaylo Lefterov, Svart development director.
“Six Senses shares the same ethos and ambition, to redefine bespoke travel through technological innovation, a carbon-neutral approach, ground-breaking design and an exceptional guest journey.”
Integrative wellness In line with the nature-first ethos behind the property, Six Senses Svart will house an indoor-outdoor spa, which will allow guests to soak up the benefits of the stunning backdrop. The spa was originally designed by consultant Felicity Leahy, and is now being fine-tuned in line with Six Senses’ approach.
Wellness at the property will extend beyond the walls of the spa and fitness centre to become an integrated experience. Svart plans to cover the ‘full gambit’ of integrated wellness, from compression boots and vitamin IVs in the biohacking lounge, to all-round wellness in the sensory treatment suites.
Guests will also enjoy state-of-the-art fitness equipment and wearable tech integration, including a specially-developed Svart Touch wellness concierge concept that Six Senses says will “further elevate the brand’s wellness approach”.
The new technology will be integrated into each guest room and delivered via non-invasive touchless consoles. It’s claimed the platform will adapt the room to the guest’s state of mind and health, providing intuitive options to evoke a deeper sense of wellbeing.
Six Senses Svart will have four restaurants – including an interpretation of Six Senses’ Marketplace concept – and an Alchemy Bar highlighting the history of the region.
A centre for engagement and innovation, the Earth Lab at Svart will serve as a sustainability outreach space, showcasing lifecycle living initiatives on and off the property.
There will also be a Svart Design Lab, which will act as an incubator for innovation and education for guests to better understand how new technologies can bring the hospitality sector closer to carbon neutrality, as part of a cradle-to-cradle lifestyle hospitality offering.
Space Copenhagen – founded in 2005 by Peter Bundgaard and Signe Bindslev Henriksen – has designed the hotel in its signature style of ‘Poetic Modernism’
Henriksen said: “The design aesthetic does not seek to mimic or filter the magnificence of the Norwegian landscape, but to be a humble backdrop to it. The building itself – an unbroken, seamless circle – will become a portal dedicated to enhancing human connection to nature, the seasons and to time itself”.
The design vision for Six Senses Svart is influenced by a ‘fiskehjell’ (an a-shaped wooden structure for drying fish) and the ‘rorbu’ (a coastal fisherman’s cabin).
A project of firsts CEO of Six Senses Neil Jacobs said: “Sustainable properties call for extraordinary creativity, and Six Senses Svart – our first property in Scandinavia – takes us to a whole new level in terms of pushing boundaries.
“The concept has become bigger than the project itself, as it will provide a futuristic showcase for what can be achieved in terms of sustainability and energy solutions, and therefore a blueprint within our hospitality industry and the development sector in general.”
Six Senses says the building will harvest enough solar energy to power the hotel, adjacent operations, the boat shuttle, and the energy needed to actually construct the building – rendering it independent from the grid.
“Such energy-positive buildings could deliver 89 per cent of the 45 per cent decrease in emissions required to reach the scenario where global warming is limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels,” says Jacobs.
“As such, Six Senses Svart is the northernmost implementation of the Paris Agreement, demonstrating that carbon neutrality can not only be feasible in a sophisticated development at an eco-sensitive site, but can also be profitable.
“The project has been a long time in the planning to make sure all parts of the operation support the vision from the start, rather than being bolted on as an afterthought,” said Jacobs. “The result will set a new standard in carbon-neutral travel.”
Leading by example Six Senses believes the operation at the destination will inspire guests and raise awareness of the possibilities of regenerative travel and the importance of the polar region, in partnership with the local community. It states that inherent in the project is the commitment not to compromise the fragile and pristine glacial surroundings or the property’s beauty and quality.
Photo: SIX SENSES
"Sustainable properties call for extraordinary creativity" – Neil Jacobs, CEO Six Senses
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2022 issue 2
Editor's letter: The wellness metaverse
We’re being handed a powerful new tool that will become a channel for creativity and innovation – pioneering wellness operators are already getting to grips with its exciting potential
Spa People: Michael Stusser
The wellness pioneer explains how he created an authentic Japanese bathing experience in the heart of the California hills
Spa People: Scot Toon
The Asia MD of The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts unveils the company's latest island development plans
Project preview: Off-grid
Svart Six Senses is set to open in Norway in 2024, and redefine the meaning of sustainable wellness tourism and regenerative travel
Sponsored: Myrtha Wellness: watertight expertise
Myrtha has transformed the world of aquatics over the last 60 years. Now it’s bringing its ingenuity-driven expertise to the international wellness industry
Interview: Rainer Usselmann
Tech business Happy Finish is bringing metaverse-based experiences to the wellness sector, working with Wund
Everyone's talking about: Menopause
From taboo to hot topic – how can spas offer treatments and a safe space for women to explore this often challenging phase of life?
Research: Bounceback
PwC says the US spa market was worth US$1bn in 2021 and growing well, according to data from ISPA's latest industry-wide study
First person: An icon reborn
Fairmont unveils the stunning renovation of its iconic Century Plaza hotel in LA, and Rianna Riego checks out the new spa
Q&A: Magdaleena Nikolov
The GM of spa, wellness and retail at Fairmont
Century Plaza talks to Jane Kitchen
Q&A: Mia Kyricos
The wellness leader talks about the creation of her new trademarked framework for the development and delivery of wellness interventions
Sponsored: Art of Cryo: raising the bar
Art of Cryo is complementing its high
performance cryotherapy range with advanced
new technology to enhance treatment benefits
Mystery Shopper: The Londoner
Our reviewer travels undercover to check out the spa offering at The Londoner – one of the most high profile openings in the capital in recent times
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
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