Type of project: Direct commission
Location: Haugesund, Norway
Type of building: Private villa
Size of building: 145 sqm
Year completed: 2009

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.

Additional design team members:  This project was developed during our  ’Arkitektstudio WRB’ time period.
Contractor: Sigve, Olle Jonny
Photographer: Åke E:son Lindman

Type of project: Direct commission
Location: Outskirts of Stockholm
Type of building: Private villa
Size of building:  300 sqm
Year completed: 2010

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.

The house was portrayed in the Swedish TV show “Hustoppen” 2011 and made Wallpaper Magazine rank us as the number 14 in ”reason to visit Sweden in 2011”.

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