Type of project: Direct commission
Location: Ingarö-Evlinge east of Stockholm
Type of building: Private villa
Size of building: Villa 250 sqm + studio 50 sqm

An existing summer house on a steep continuous slope was the starting point for this project. The old house sat in the middle of the property leaving only unusable, narrow and steeply sloping ground around it. A main objective, therefore, was to regain the property and to create flat areas with good sun conditions for outdoor activities. We placed the building on the northern property border, leaving most of the unexploited property facing south. The biggest part of the building was dug into the slope, creating a large horizontal platform on ground level. Half of this platform is taken up by the upper floor of the building; the other half remains an open outdoor terrace adjacent to the kitchen inside. Next to the kitchen is the living area, which, from its elevated position, offers a view of the water, as well as the upper halves of two large oak trees.

As a place for inspiration and creation of precious art for this Italian painter and his Swedish wife, the studio makes an abrupt change to its traditional Swedish pitched-roof neighbours. The building glitters as a golden shrine penetrated with large black windows, as it sits in the rocky slope between sculptural pine trees.

The building won the ”Award for good architecture” by the council of Värmdö. It has further been portraited in numerous national and international publications.

Additional design team members:  This project was developed during the  ’Arkitektstudio WRB’ era.
Photographer: Åke E:son Lindman

Type of project: Direct commission
Location: Archipelago of Stockholm
Type of building: Private summer house
Size of building: 150 sqm (120 indoors) + sauna 20 sqm

The site is a waterfront property located on an island in the archipelago of Stockholm. Oaks and pines living in meagre soil between sculptural rocks dominate the landscape. A big section of the site’s upper part is occupied by a large oak over 500 years old.

The clients, a young family with two children, wished for a house that would take full advantage of the scenic sea view without becoming a dominating feature on the coastline. Important factors were also the demand to create a house for leisure, with a feeling of comfort and relaxation; a house to socialise in; a house to feel pampered by, as opposed to one to take care of.

Our concept for this project is a building that sits slightly back and elevated from the waterfront, half-hidden behind the knotty pine trees. Facing the sea is a large area for socialising. A floor, a roof and a free-standing core for utilities make up this part of the building. It has an indoor part and an outdoor part, separated only by a sliding glass wall. The bedrooms, storage and bathroom are gathered in a more closed structure behind the core. They face a secluded courtyard framed by rock formations and the old oak tree.

”Island House” is perhaps our most published building with numerous national and international publications.

Contractor: Ove Lyppert Bygg , Håkan Widjedal and Natasha Racki
Photographer: Åke E-son Lindman

Type of project: Direct commission
Location: Haugesund, Norway
Type of building: Private villa
Size of building: 145 sqm

A stunning fjord site on Scandinavia’s most western point is the background for this project. When we first visited the site, a fairly new house occupied the southern part. As a result, the remaining part of the plot ended up in shadow, while the sunny patio on the south side of the house was crammed against the rocks and cut off from the sea view. Our clients saw the site’s potential and never had any doubts about tearing the house down. Our design leaves the southern side of the plot open by forming a transparent glassed shelter towards the sea, providing protection from occasional strong winds from the north. By placing a concrete box with more closed functions towards the entrance road in the west, the courtyard was made even more secluded. Now the heart of the setup, comprising the roof-covered patio with open fireplace and heated pool, is placed right where the old house once sat.

House Gundersen has been portraited in numerous national and international publications.

This project was developed during our  ’Arkitektstudio WRB’ era.
Contractor: Sigve, Olle Jonny
Structural engineer: Martin & Co through Martin Karlsson
Photographer: Åke E:son Lindman

Type of project: Direct commission
Location: Outskirts of Stockholm
Type of building: Private villa
Size of building:  300 sqm

Villa Alba is a situated on a lush southern slope in a high end suburb of western Stockholm. The area is an old summer house area now being upgraded for permanent living. The site had not previously been built on and we had the opportunity to start from scratch. Our aim was to keep as much as possible of the lush character and especially a dramatic section of barren rock in the middle became a focal point for the project. The clients, a young Swedish couple just returning from work in London got very involved in the process and the wife played an important role in the project management as well as the interior decoration. The building is actually several bodies held together by a black brick wall closing the property towards the  road in the north, to create privacy as well as a protected microclimate on the south side. This concept gave us a variety of outdoor and indoor spaces with different character and mood on a site that otherwise could have become enkelsidigt focused on the sea view in the south. The main volume of the building contains a bottom floor with social areas and an upper floor with private bedrooms and bath for the family. The second largest volume contains privacy for work and guests, which was an important part of the program. Besides these functions this section also has a bottom floor with sauna and utilities. A glassed passage connects these two parts. The passage´s northern glassed wall has white glassed offering a hint to the neighbors of the life taking place on the other side as a Javanese puppet show.

Villa Alba was portrayed in the Swedish TV show “Hustoppen” and made Wallpaper Magazine rank us as number 14 in ”reason to visit Sweden”. It has also been the setting for several TV- and comercial productions as well as numerous national and international publications.

Additional design team members: Ola Keijer, Detlev Henkel. This project was developed during our  ’Arkitektstudio WRB’ time period.
Contractor: Sven Wiklund
Photographer: Åke E:son Lindman