Designed for a property in Saltsjö-Duvnäs, a suburb of Stockholm where early 1900s national romantic architecture is plentiful, W house was a journey into neotraditional aesthetics where we wanted to explore how to apply a modern approach to classic design. The house has two main floors and a basement garage which makes best use of the steep plot. The ascent to the house provides an impressive entry perspective of a house that bridges the gap between past and present.
V House
We were approached by a young, vibrant couple who wanted to build a summer house at a lot they had been eyeing for some time at Värmdö in the inner parts of the Stockholm archipelago. The ambition was a house which would support the family and their social gatherings during summer months and the occasional weekend. Following a first visit to the lot, the idea of the house quickly came to life in a shape dictated by the topography of the site; an L shape which hugged the contour of the rocky outcrop, with two small additional buildings that followed the slope and a terrace to connect them all. The idea was to work with the lot rather than against it, and to preserve as much as possible. The aesthetic of the house was guided by a strive for countryside elegance – clean, refined design using materials which felt connected to the site. The matte black, granite and sedum exterior is met with an interior made up of two oak nuances, granite, Swedish green marble, concrete, wool carpet and linen curtains. We chose to add grilles to the windows in order to break up the large surfaces and add a sense of comfort to dark autumn nights. After its completion, the house turned out to be something beyond the clients’ expectations, and has come to be a place not just for summer holidays, but a place which they now enjoy on most weekends and holidays of the year.
S House
Situated in front of a meadow at one end of a neighborhood far out on the Lidingö island in Stockholm, S house was originally designed for an exuberant entrepreneur and his family as a haven for inspiration and subtle grandeur. The entry façade was deliberately made very private and closed with only a small number of windows which – hidden behind the wooden slats of the upper floor – disappear completely when viewed at an angle. Once inside however, past the entrance hall the panoramic layout manifests the opposite. Nestled around a central living room with a sunken floor and double height ceiling are open, interconnected social and private spaces with beautiful views of the fields beyond. The second floor features rooms with views of the floor below, including a full master suite, cinema, and bedrooms. Materials include a tar oil treated pine façade – chosen for its natural aging qualities – concrete, granite and walnut among other. The S house has throughout the years been heavily featured on social media and has made several appearances on both Swedish and international TV.
N House
Situated at the end of a beautiful peninsula in Vendelsö south of Stockholm, this house was designed for a family that decided to leave a busy global metropolis behind for the pristine natural environment of this cozy suburb, typical for the outskirts of the Swedish capital. Working with zoning regulations which were very restrictive in terms of both placement and sizing, the design was derived from an ambition to extend the interior spatial experience to make the house feel larger, and to shape the design of the house to harmonize with the flat surrounding. We achieved this by adding a balcony that encircles the house, as well as a double height space and generous glass partitions. The design furthermore builds on horizontal layering, which counteracts the impression of height in favor of a more grounded and serene appearance. The layout is a simple S shape with a terrace at one end and a backyard nestled around a tree at the other end, both visible from the interior of the house. A studio, guest house, sauna building, and garage complements the plot, adding to the feeling of a cozy hamlet ready for countless joyful gatherings of friends and family for decades to come.
LB HOUSE
JL House
Designed as an oasis with a beautiful garden surrounded by trees and hedges within a fairly dense neighborhood, JL house is a graphical statement with an open entrance floorplan where the large glass partitions blur the border between indoors and outdoors. The upper floor which becomes visible above the hedges surrounding the plot is more private and features blinds for visual privacy and shade. The experience of the house begins with a deliberately low approach and entrance which dramatically opens up directly into the staircase atrium with full height ceiling in the shape of a sky view adorned with beautiful pendant lighting. The entrance floor is stretched between the views of two beautiful garden features at either end – a rock garden and a pond – both visible through the entire house. The upper floor similarly features an unobstructed line of sight throughout with all floor to ceiling sliding doors open. The house features an elegant and timeless palette of materials which were carefully selected to complement and strengthen the overall design vision. The exterior is made up of twig free pine wood, plaster, metal cladding and slate bricks while the interior features elm wood, chalk paint, limestone and marble with a fireplace crowned with a black iron hood. As usual, all interior joinery and stonework is bespoke and designed by us, exclusively for the house.
HE House
Perched atop a steep hillside in the idyllic Nacka, east of central Stockholm, HE house was designed to enjoy its vantage point and the great views it offers at the same time as it provides a quiet backyard for peace and contemplation. The house is designed in two levels, the ground floor being the entrance floor with an open car park underneath the main body of the house. A new road had to be built solely for the house as the lot had previously been inaccessible by car, and we chose to incorporate this as delicately as possible into the cliffside leading up to the house. The upper floor is divided in a social part and a private part, the social part being fully transparent connecting the peaceful backyard – featuring a small pool made up with natural stonework and an adjoining Japanese garden – with the viewing terrace on the other side. The private area is adorned in walnut boiserie with views of the backyard garden along a hallway connecting the rooms and ending in a study overlooking the garden. The materials used among other feature a vertical zigzag pattern natural anodized aluminum panel for the exterior which gives the house a beautiful luster.
H House
The design originated from the owner’s interest in World War 2 era bunkers which are common along the Swedish coastline, and the vision was a concrete house which had almost become overgrown, with moss partially covering the rouch concrete structure. The decision was later made to add a layer of sophistication with an upper floor in smooth twigless pine wood, and this contrast between rough and smooth came to serve as the cornerstone of the design from there on. The house, which is predominantly rectilinear, also features subtle elements of curvature to further enhance these contrasts, including a bespoke stainless steel kitchen island designed exclusively for the project. Its rounded features together with the finely brushed surface of the steel generates a beautiful play of light and shadow. The entrance floor is mainly social, and a stair suspended above a planting bed leads up to the private second floor with subdued acoustics and beautiful views from every room.
E HOUSE
L House
The design for L house sprung forth from a vision where nature meets glamour – a modern approach with a humble connection to its surroundings. Located on a hillside in front of a cozy harbor in the inner Stockholm archipelago, one of the key features of the house is the living room which shoots off from the main house on pillars above the slope below. This way, bushes and branches are able to find their way even beneath the house so that the experience from inside would be that one is seemingly floating in mid-air, suspended above the ground. This interaction between weight and lightness continues throughout the house with a basement floor clad in Swiss Vals stone in reference to the owner’s heritage which opens up in the middle of the house to a tree supposed to grow from the basement level and up through the house. In contrast, the upper floor is light, and features brushed shou sugi-ban charred wood panelling with an emphasis on its beautiful grain. We wanted the approach of the house to be private without becoming repellent, and decided to use high windows for this reason. While blocking the view straight into the house, they reveal the intricate exposed-beam ceilings which glow warmly at night.