This week marks the official opening of this very special cabin – an extreme example built primarily using PVC, or plastic as most of us know it.
Proud moment
“We’ve done it – together! And we've managed to pull it off over several years. It’s fantastic!” beams John Øivind Selmer, the man behind the idea and driving force of the project. He is also a trade union legend and employee representative on the board of Inovyn Norge AS. Selmer is both proud and delighted with the result of this unique collaboration between INEOS Inovyn, Herøya Arbeiderforening (HAF) and BB-Bygg Stathelle AS.
The cabin isn’t just a striking piece of architecture – it’s a showcase for new possibilities in using PVC as a building material. Much of the raw material for the plastics used in the project originates right here in Grenland, with the production of vinyl chloride gas at INEOS’s plant in Rafnes, Bamble.
Local initiative sparks global interest
Plenty of guests will be turning up for Thursday’s grand opening. Interest in the project has skyrocketed.
“I’ve just had messages from the marketing team in London – they say this has really taken off,” Selmer explains. “A lot of INEOS’s major clients from around the world are coming over. And we’re not talking small businesses here!”It highlights the international relevance and innovative strength behind the project.
“We’ve been developing the products as we’ve been building,” Selmer adds. “The marketing department has even designed completely new products especially for this cabin. The aim isn’t to compete with existing materials but to show just how much potential PVC has as a building material.”
From simple idea to low-maintenance getaway
The dream started with a chat between John Øivind Selmer and property developers Tim Kronborg from Bjørkøya Utvikling AS and Jørn Pettersen from BB-Bygg Stathelle AS.
“I said, 'Yeah, we can do this, but you’ll need to use our products,'” Selmer recalls with a smile. The reply from Pettersen couldn’t have been better: “That’s brilliant – I specialise in PVC.” And just like that, they were off.
Jørn Pettersen, managing director at BB-Bygg Stathelle AS, has been building cabins on Bjørkøya for the past 15 years. He explains that PVC is already widely used in holiday cabins, especially for windows and roofs. But with this project, they’ve taken it to the next level – using PVC throughout the kitchen and bathroom fittings, floors, walls, and ceilings.
"The material looks fantastic and fits perfectly with modern design," he says. “There’s really no reason to be sceptical about using PVC,” Pettersen insists. He especially highlights the low-maintenance benefits – a dream come true for holiday homeowners who are fed up with endless painting and upkeep of wooden structures.
Pioneering project full of learning
Porsgrunn’s mayor, Janicke Andreassen (currently on leave from her role as general secretary of HAF), was involved in choosing the site at the very start of the project. She’s full of enthusiasm.
“It’s turned out brilliantly! And it’s been such fun to be part of this. I’ve learned loads, and I’m pretty sure that John Øivind and INEOS, through the product development here, see the value in doing a project like this,” she says.
She adds that all the meetings and discussions with different suppliers of materials like flooring and kitchen fittings have been a real pioneering effort.
With this unique cabin on Bjørkøya, Porsgrunn and Telemark are once again leading the way in innovation and sustainable construction, putting Grenland on the map as a hub for future-forward building materials.
Text/photo: Siri Krohn-Fagervoll siri@krohnfagervoll.no
