NORRNÄS Private house, Värmdö (2009-14, built)

The impetus for the project was the site and how to respond to it. The architecture aims to establish a topographical relationship to the location, where the main building in a sense dominates the surroundings. Whereas there is a Swedish tradition of subordinating the house to the landscape, here the goal has been to create a relationship between building and surrounding based on tension. The client preferred not to be surrounded by seldom-used functions in their daily life, and the programme was therefore divided into three building volumes, each of which contains different functions, and all of which together constitute the dwelling. The site has a great variation in its landscape and by relating to this in differentiated ways, the restrained interiors gain character and richness. The buildings have been developed as a kind of primordial hut, in the manner of Semper, with a distinction between stereotomic platforms and space-catching tectonic frames.

Special Mention, Architizer A+ Award, 2017, USA

Photography: Mikael Olsson