An old, rusty oil tank would probably be the last place on earth that you’d consider making into a home. But when Martin Otterbeck, 59, saw an abandoned tank on the tiny Norwegian island of Skrova, he looked past the tank’s age and appearance.
With an ambitious vision and a lot of hard work, Martin set about transforming the oil tank into his new home. Here, Martin shares how he created a stunning property from the most unexpected of places.
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Martin Otterbeck works as a cinematographer, mostly on feature films and TV drama, but also some documentary work, while his partner Agnete is one of Norway’s most recognized portrait and reportage photographers.
The couple were already open to living somewhere unusual when they came across the oil tank, as they were based in a decommissioned railway station in Oslo. “Because of our work, we travel a lot,” Martin says. “We spend as much time as we can in Lofoten, especially on the islands of Skrova and Røst.”
The oil tank had once held around 53,000 gallons of diesel and was in a sorry state of disrepair.
When Martin saw his future home in 2007 in the picturesque shipping village of Skrova, in the Lofoten archipelago, he was instantly intrigued by it and saw past the rust, visualizing its true potential.
As a trained carpenter, Martin knew he could keep costs down by undertaking all the building work himself. He is a certified cabinetmaker and interior carpenter, which he did for a living until he turned 30.
“These days, carpentry is more of a passion and hobby for me – something I do when I have time and inspiration,” Martin explains. “I love working with my hands on building and artistic projects alongside my film career.”
As well the panoramic 360-degree views of the surrounding Norwegian fjord, the round shape of the tank was another selling point. Martin had always wanted to build a round house.
“I’ve always had a fascination with round objects, and I love seeing possibilities where others see problems,” Martin explains. “I believe in giving new meaning to objects that have lost their original function, while preserving their identity and history.”
Martin asked the owner about the abandoned tank’s cost, and was informed it would cost 15,000 Norwegian Krone ($1,484).
“I had limited financial resources and relied on finding cheap and effective solutions,” Martin remembers. “The budget for purchasing and renovating the tank was a maximum of 1,000,000 Norwegian Krone ($98,945) – which I managed to stick to.”
Martin bought the oil tank in the fall of 2007 from a local fish buyer whose family had been running the business for three generations.
“Before I bought the tank, most of the 180 full-time residents on the island saw it as rusted environmental waste – something that needed to be removed,” Martin explains. “But I saw it as the most beautifully placed structure on the island – perched on a hill with a view over everything.”
“The buyer’s father had obtained a license in the early 1960s to sell diesel fuel to the fishermen delivering their catch to the factory,” Martin explains.
“The oil tank was built in 1962 and served boats arriving at the island until the early 1980s. By then, the era of small fishing boats was fading, replaced by larger vessels that processed fish onboard. The family downsized their operations and stopped selling fuel.”
Once Martin had bought the oil tank, the biggest initial challenge was getting permission from the municipality to convert it into a modern vacation home.
“It took some time to convince the local planning authorities that I was serious about completing the project,” Martin recalls. “Thankfully, there were people there who understood the vision and were able to navigate the usually rigid bureaucracy.” In spring 2008, he started the actual transformation work.
Once Martin had finally got all the permissions he needed to convert the oil tank into a home, he still had many more obstacles to overcome. The first physical step was cutting off the roof and jacking it up 11.8 inches to create enough height for three floors, and there were countless more steps to complete.
“There were several moments when things didn’t go as planned, but that only gave me more motivation to find solutions,” Martin remembers.
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One of the main challenges was insulating the tank in a way that was faithful to its heritage.
“Technically, the easiest would have been to insulate the tank from the outside,” Martin explains. "But then it would have lost its identity – we might as well have built a round house anywhere else.”
Determined to be respectful of the tank’s origins, Martin found an intelligent way to solve the insulation dilemma. “The tank is made of steel plates,” Martin explains. “As everyone knows, steel does not breathe. The challenge with insulating from the inside would then be condensation.
“We solved this by installing 24 ventilation openings distributed around the tank, both at the top and bottom, in addition to having a two-inch air gap between the inside of the steel and the insulation.”
Martin also had to deal with the reaction of others, who couldn’t believe the project he had undertaken.
"Per Gunnar, from whom I bought the tank, said with a slightly humorous tone: ‘Good that the last fool isn't born yet,’” Martin reveals. “Several friends were sceptical of the project and thought it was a pipe dream that would never be finished.”
Rather than be discouraged by those who doubted the project, the scepticism only drove Martin to work even harder. “This feedback had the opposite effect on me and motivated me to prove that it could become something beautiful,” Martin says.
“I have an older brother-in-law whom I am very fond of. He is a doctor and quite conservative. I used him as a measuring stick and took him with me on the first visit inside the tank. I remember he became super enthusiastic. That was an important moment.”
The oil tank is bigger than it may seem on the outside. Its outside diameter measures 236 inches and is around 217 inches on the inside.
The tank consists of three floors plus a roof that can be accessed through a hatch. On the first floor, there is a kitchen, a bedroom, and a small laundry room. On the second floor, there is another bedroom and a bathroom. On the third floor, there is a living room and a viewing room, all of which work with the contours of the building.
In 2012, Martin built the Mirror House, which blends into the scenery beside the original oil tank.
“The Mirror House contains an extra bedroom and a storage room where we can dry clothes and keep various stuff,” he explains.
Today, Martin rents out the oil tank via his website and Airbnb.
He also spends a lot of time there, enjoying his creation. “My favorite spot is lying in the Mexican hammock on the third floor, listening to Keith Jarrett’s piano playing 'The Köln Concert' from 1975 on the stereo system,” he adds.
While there were frustrating moments, Martin loved the project from start to finish – but says he stays away from giving advice to others who want to emulate his idea.
“The whole process has been fun to carry out,” he reflects. “I am fundamentally against giving advice. What is right for me can be different for others. But I love being inspired by what other people do. I also hope my thoughts can inspire some to take a leap and jump.”
But Martin hasn't stopped there, in 2023 he started work on another project entitled Ettertanken. He transformed a “condemned water tower” on the Norwegian island of Røst into “a place for reflection, contemplation, and a viewpoint towards the future”, based on an idea from the late professor of social medicine Per Fugelli.
“We want to realise Per’s idea by giving the water tower a new life as a landmark and viewpoint to the delight of the local community on Røst and visitors,” Martin explains.
The name Ettertanken carries a deliberate double meaning in Norwegian.
“The name refers both to a physical ‘tank' and to the word 'ettertanke', which means 'reflection' or ‘contemplation,’” Martin explains. “The project is built inside a former water tank, but it also invites visitors to slow down and reflect, so Ettertanken is both a literal and symbolic space for reflection. We believe it will become a place many people will visit to find peace and reflect on life.”
As with the oil tank, Martin had multiple aims when it came to transforming the water tower.
“We wanted to create a lasting structural uplift from a local landmark and give it a new function, and to design a unique building that will give Røst attention locally, nationally, and internationally,” he explains. “We sought to transform a cultural monument into a new and symbolically important function, serving as an outpost for freedom of speech and a viewpoint towards the future.”
Ettertanken was completed in the summer of 2024 after four years of fundraising.
“We received support from the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Fund, the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage, Sparebankstiftelsen Nord-Norge, Røst municipality, the Berges Foundation, and various private donors,” Martin explains. “The actual work took one year. The project is non-commercial but based on idealism. It’s always open to visitors, and promotes pride and optimism in a community facing depopulation.”
Martin passionately believes that it’s important to dare to act on creative thoughts and bring them into reality.
“We all have two hands and one head,” he opines. “It’s so much more rewarding to use them creatively and make something unique for yourself – something that might also inspire others to take part in their own lives.”
“Many people in the Western world today complain about everyday trivialities. It’s easy to see yourself as a victim of the most insignificant things,” Martin explains.
“Some have made a lifestyle out of being opinionated and critical of others. It's easy to fall into the role of the commentator in life – but we in the West are so privileged.”
The couple’s glass-half-full attitude means they still have lots of drive and energy for more projects.
“In the Western world, we have endless opportunities to explore and express ourselves, and not everything has to cost a fortune,” Martin says. "We’ll see what’s next. I have a few more dreams tucked away... maybe a sauna!”
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