tham and videgard arkitekter: house karlsson

house karlsson by tham & videgard arkitekter image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

house karlsson by tham & videgard arkitekter is a family home situated on the northern coast of the lake mälaren in central sweden. it is located in a former recreational area where, in recent years, most of the small weekend houses have been either extended or replaced by catalogue housing.

a starting point for the project was the simple constructions of rural buildings and the architecture of swedish barns and warehouses. the brief was defined in two parts: a complete living floor at entrance level, and an upper floor that is only partly finished representing a future possible extension within the house.

in contrast to the deep red exterior, the interior space is very light. it is characterised by the three light shafts that rise through the attic to let the sunlight enter also from above. two are situated at the short walls of the open living room, the third marks the position of the stair at the south gable.

combining rooms in a suite with transverse passages the plan offers several alternative movements through the house. windows are placed to further enhance the difference of the interior spaces by directing the views low towards the garden, far away towards the lake and the horizon, or high up at the trees and the sky above.

the prismatic exterior is clad with an oversized wooden panel made of heartwood of slowly grown pine and treated with red tar, a way of reinterpreting the technique of wooden roofs that has been in use for centuries in scandinavia, mostly in the north and on the island of gotland in the baltic sea.

freely placed windows in two sizes are punched through the roof and the facades. fixed sun breaker shutters complement the varied interior light as well as the pattern of shadow and light of the outside. all exterior fittings and details are painted in the same colour as the facade.

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

exterior image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

structure image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

each section of the house image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

overall structure image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

elevation image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

floor plan image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

image courtesy tham & videgard arkitekter

project info:

name: house karlsson architect: tham & videgård arkitekter, bolle tham and martin videgård. client: björn and berit karlsson collaborators: john billberg, fredrik olsson, claes sörstedt, måns tham civil engineer: konkret rådgivande ingenjörer, olle norrman dates: project 2000, construction 2002 surface: 200 m2 cost: 250.000 euro (1250 euro/sqm) photography: åke e:son lindman