#1601

SUMMERHOUSE T


Location:

STOCKHOLM ARCHIPELAGO


Size:

40 M2


Status:

COMPLETED


Client:

PRIVATE


Nominations:

THE PRIVATE HOUSE AWARD
THE RED PAINT AWARD
DESIGN S



The site is located in the Stockholm archipelago and was in the early 1900’s inhabited by a gardener. For the past 30 years, a botanically interested mother and her two daughters have enjoyed the gardener’s house as a summer home. In recent years, as the daughters have formed families of their own, the old house proved too small. While one sister renovated an existing guest house, the other decided to build something new. The desired program – a kitchen, a bathroom, a dining area, a living room, four beds and storage space – had to fit within municipal constraints that restrict the building area to 40 m2.

Summerhouse T is organised as an open, square room with a standalone volume containing beds, kitchen, and storage. Along the building’s southern facade lay a dining area and a living area. The wooden ceiling, floor, and walls are stained dark, in order to enhance the building’s intimate character and focus attention towards the surrounding view. The house’s only door leads to the bathroom; a separate volume designed to snugly fit into an existing gap in the nearby rock.

The open plan, floor-to-ceiling windows, and freedom of movement along the entire facade make the small house seem quite large, in terms of both space and experience. The parents’ sleeping alcove enjoys a scenic view towards the lake and the woods, while the children’s nook faces grandma’s house. The centrally placed parallel kitchen is afforded contrasting views in opposite directions, while the combined dining and lounge area offers a 180-degree vista of the surroundings. Sliding glass partitions allow for cooling breezes to flow through the house, and extend the living area onto the outdoor deck, where an exaggerated roof overhang shields against the sun. On rainy days, water pours along the eaves almost like a curtain, and the house suddenly closes inward.


KOCKSGATAN 56    116 29 STOCKHOLM