To introduce ourselves to fellow students on the Interior Design Grad Dip course, we were given the task to create our own wearable model based on a space or structure that inspires us. The Arctic Cathedral in Tromso, Norway, is a structure that I have visited twice before. Located in the Tromsdalen valley, the cathedral was built in 1965, designed by architect Jan Inge Hovig.

Having been built on the east side of Tromso, I was fascinated how the cathedral seamlessly blends into the surrounding residential landscape and how successful the design is in reflecting the arctic environment of this city. The lighting has also been specifically placed within the interior of the Cathedral so that it reflects through the exterior of the panels.

The structure has been built out of aluminium and concrete panels. A glass mosaic panel was a later addition in 1972, which was added to the east side of the structure.

To build the model I used thick white foam boards to show the simplicity of the structure and the arctic landscape of Tromso. I wanted to follow the inconsistent height of the panels on the cathedral, so I worked out all measurements to follow and created card panels to test before working with the foam.

Initially I did find it challenging to cut a clean edge as the foam was so thick, however I found this issue ended up creating a nice texture to each piece. I was originally going to just model this wearable on my shoulder, later on I decided to glue this onto a black cap, which really elevated the model.