With 29 rooms spread across four floors and a number of inviting amenities such as a library, outdoor hot spas, a private movie theatre and an independent art gallery, the Fogo Island Inn, the latest addition to an ongoing arts residency programme (Fogo Island Studios) has recently opened its doors to the public. Its unique design and ideal location created the perfect opportunity for the client, The Shorefast Foundation, to strengthen the island’s economic and cultural survival by taking advantage of contemporary, ecological and self-sustaining systems. Located between the communities of Joe Batt’s Arm and Barr’d Islands on the Back Western Shore, all of the guest rooms face the ocean and a view of the Little Fogo Islands in the distance - with the North Atlantic beyond. Thoroughly designed to embrace the land directly without impacting the adjacent rocks, lichens and berries, local builders and craftspeople worked together with specialists from North America and Europe, to create a contemporary structure incorporating incredible quality in all the details of the exterior cell of the building, brought to life with soft fabrics and warm materials in the interiors.  

An outbuilding to the south of the Inn contains the resort’s service functions such as laundry, storage and wood fired boilers. Roof solar thermal panels on the roof dictate the form of the outbuilding and the angle of the roof whilst the space between the outbuilding and main building creates an entry court, framing the main entrance.

This economic asset has not only become a benchmark in the world of Architecture and Design but also proves how local communities can benefit from urban design and creative concepts.

As the Shorefast Foundation team explains:
''The project has been a collaborative effort now lasting over 7 years between the Fogo Island based Shorefast Foundation and the Newfoundland born and Norway based architect Todd Saunders. This atypical collaboration continues to be a happy adventure and is a kind of miracle considering the typical client-architect relationship on a project of this scale and duration''.

The rooms which vary from 350 square feet all the way to 1,100 square feet all feature wood-burning stoves, timber floors and colourful design details creating a luxurious, homely atmosphere juxtaposed against the delicate construction. Smooth and clean, the layout of the interior invariably reminds us that comfort is most often hidden in the fundamental communication between simple lines and clever solutions. Fogo Island Inn is much more than just another luxury hotel in a countryside setting. It is a property that provides its guests with the opportunity to indulge themselves in the absolute luxury of becoming one with the surrounding nature as the exaggerations and superficial needs of everyday life are left behind.