The Nordic Home

Edited by John Arne Bjerknes

Edited by John Arne Bjerknes

THE NORDIC HOME

THE NORDIC HOME

Given its unique focus on organically integrating people with nature using sustainable techniques, Scandinavian design currently occupies a important position in the architectural world. Nordic design offers plenty of inspiration for architects to create compelling designs with natural materials. The Nordic Home captures this exciting trend by showcasing 36 case studies exemplifying the best of Nordic architecture.

John Arne Bjerknes is a partner

Cover image: House Y (photography by Marc Goodwin)

and design director at Nordic — Office of Architecture. He has extensive experience within design, development, and planning of small and large-scale construction projects within a variety of sectors. He is engaged as a diploma examiner, lecturer at the Department of Architecture at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and is a frequent speaker for the National Association of Norwegian Architects Architectural Academy and SINTEF’s post-graduation programs.

$50.00 [USA] £35.00 [GB]

The Exotic North

By John Arne Bjerknes, partner and design director at Nordic — Office of Architecture

The image of Nordic countries appears to be either entirely non-existent (is there even such a thing as a Nordic region?) or shrouded in an exotic fog of ice and snow-capped mountains.

This region to the far north — the very top of Europe — is often perceived as a distant, isolated, and somewhat self-satisfied enclave.

And perhaps this is the case.

Entries from ‘outsiders’ (non-Nordic companies) to international architectural competitions held in the Nordic region tend to recreate romantic visions of rural nature, filled with mountains, icebergs, and forests. In a region where nature surrounds you, where raw and untouched nature is still abundant, one starts to wonder about this fascination for manufactured nature.

Why design a museum, an opera house, or another institution to mimic bulky icebergs and mountain ranges?

In a reality where nature is by far dominant, the artificial constitutes a mere fraction of the world we Nordics inhabit.The lands to the north make for a substantial area and constitute a large part of the European continent, but that vast space is sparsely populated to say the least.

While not exactly untrue, these notions of the north lack nuance.

The North is a region of great diversity, both in climate and topography, from the arid, flat, and sand-strewn southern edges of Denmark to the mountainous northern-most part of Norway, with its frozen coastline on one side and the endless forests of Finland on the other. Nature, topography, the low trajectory of the sun and the vast distances have all played a part in the shaping of this region. These factors shaped our way of life, our livelihoods, our means of communication, our trade, our cities, as well as our interactions with

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‘outsiders’ throughout history. Consequently, while there are similarities, there is a rich diversity in culture throughout the region.

Denmark and Sweden, on the southern edge of this northern ‘continent,’ have a closer relationship with the cities of continental Europe. Finland is always looking over its shoulder towards the ‘great Russian bear’ to the east, Iceland is out in the ocean, and Norway is in large part defined by its intimate relationship with the sea to the west.

As the world has shrunk and changed through globalization, Nordic countries have changed with it. The cities are growing, the population gradually shifting from small mountain villages and sparsely populated rural towns to an urban landscape.

Yet, what did we bring with us? Can we see the tell-tale signs of our history and traditions when we study the buildings we now shape?

The small houses, the one-family homes and cottages have a long tradition as the dominant domiciles and cultural phenomena in Nordic countries. Cities exist and have for centuries, particularly in Denmark and Sweden, while the village, as we know it from greater Europe, can only be found in traces within parts of Denmark.

The scattered family farms where each family lived in relative seclusion has become the detached houses of the last 50 years and have also moved in closer to the cities. As an anchor to our past — by the sea, the lakes and in the mountains — we have built our cottages.

The extent of the Scandinavian, particularly Norwegian, cabin culture is unique in a greater European context. The concept of a ‘second home’ is an absolute reality for a great part of the populace.

With this in mind,what kind of single-family homes and cabins do we build?

What dominates the housing-scene is not quite what you will find in this book. The ‘catalogue houses’ or ‘pre-fabs’ make up 80 to90% of the houses and cabins built, not even mentioning the more specially developed and customized options, which is a category that is tied embarrassingly closely to wealth and, as such, not representative of the actual building culture of the region.

At the same time, the book represents the tendencies and contexts — historic, technological, and ideological — relating to certain (and by no means all) aspects of Nordic building culture. These examples also reflect a passion for the task at hand as well as for the human needs and experiences that form the basis for the spaces and situations that are created.

Is it possible to categorize and group what the book shows us?

Most probably, at least if we don’t go too deep into the architect’s own pretensions and academic ambitions regarding a particular building’s narrative.

Modernism arrived early and established a strong foothold in Scandinavia. In fact, it has been the dominating architectural tradition in the entire region since the end of the Second World War. It has dominated as a school and as the academic basis of design in the broadest sense of the word. While dominant, this ism has still taken on local colors, as it were, and it has been particularly strong in the Finnish tradition all the way up until the present. In Finland, more isolated from Western Europe and the rest of the northern countries, it has been revered and transformed through generations.

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The desire to invite nature and the land into the building, or more precisely,the experience of being in nature has been added to the Modernist tradition within Nordic building culture. This is especially true of modernist cabins and weekend houses. The house and the cabin’s traditional function as a shelter has been replaced by one of a light, glazed shell focused on comfort rather than the heavy weight of necessary protection. The cold, wind, and wild animals of times past are enjoyed safely and without discomfort as if on a big screen.

On the almost opposite end of the spectrum, but possibly with the same underlying narrative, are the buildings that wish to be one with nature. Dug-in, subservient, as an interpretation of a nature where human beings return to cave dwellings and similar simple covered shelters defined by the landscape.

These tend to be dominated by locally sourced materials, simple technology, and a wish for absolute ‘authenticity.’

Tradition is alive in the form of historical construction techniques, use of locally available building materials with century-long pedigrees, recreations of traditional forms and volumes, sometimes legible only as an intellectual exercise, while sometimes more direct and recognizable, and heavier buildings where rooms are clearly defined and the original function of the building as protection against the harsh climate of the wild and brutal mountains and the dark forests is more clearly expressed, protections now serving to protect privacy in a world rapidly developing.

CASE STUDIES

Case Studies

Archipelago House

The starting point for this project was to provide a direct relationship with the dramatic archipelago landscape and create a simple platform that would offer several diverse readings of the relationship between space and nature.

The archipelago house was conceived as a lightweight construction in wood and glass.

Located in Stockholm’s outer archipelago, this summer house was built according to specific conditions prevailing on the island to provide the guests a perfect house for their holidays. Without any routes traversable by car, all materials had to be brought by boat from the mainland. Wood was chosen throughout the design in order to provide simplicity of construction and to minimize difficulties with heavy transportation.

The horizontal character of the black-stained exterior relates to the verticality of the island’s tall pines and mirrored views of the Baltic Sea. The geometry of the plan is generated by the specifics of the site. The house sits on a flat surface between two rocky outcrops and is oriented simultaneously towards the sun in south and towards sea views in the west. With smaller rooms placed behind, the three large social areas of the house open up to the terrace

and provide an open platform, criss-crossed by sliding glass. The zigzag layout also creates a series of outside spaces sheltered from the island’s strong winds. As a result of the large glass panes and the prevailing conditions of light, reflections and mirror-like effects, a quality is created where nature, space, and horizon all interact together. A horizontal screen diffuses sunlight and provides a variety of shadows as well as giving the impression of a continuous space, blurring the boundary between inside and out.

Standing on the plot’s only flat surface, the foundations of this summer house have a minimal impact on the site, preserving natural characteristics and allowing rocks to filter down to the house. The large-scale shingle panel façade consists of a framework of core-sawn pine in decreasing lengths and plywood boards treated with a protective black glaze. The interior walls and ceilings consist of white tongue and groove panels, while the wooden floor and doors are made of white-oiled oak. All wardrobes, bunk beds, and shelving units were handmade on site from solid wood and painted white.

Site plan

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Location Stockholm, Sweden Area 1399 square feet (130 square meters) Design THAM & VIDEGÅRD ARKITEKTER Photography Åke E:son Lindman

Plan

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Entrance Kitchen Living room Master bedroom Children’s room Bathroom / laundry Studio Guest room Terrace / wooden trellis

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Façades 4

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Site section 9

House for Mother

Started in 2013 as a project for the 2017 housing exhibition in Linköping, House for Mother was the first house built by Förstberg Ling, the joint venture of Björn Förstberg and MIkael Ling. As the title suggests, the house was conceived as a dwelling and studio for Björn’s mother Maria, librarian and weaving enthusiast.

“House for Mother” balances spatiality with intimate rooms, formal simplicity with strong materiality. The raw corrugated aluminum façade plays with light and shade during the day, a rich materiality contrasting with its simple expression.

The fuzzy reflections in the unpainted metal make the house change color throughout the day, changing expression depending on the weather (ranging from blue to gray to white, even pink when the sun is setting). The wooden beams and trusses along with the walls lined with plywood give warmth to the interior while the concrete floor is a durable surface for everyday use, elevated to a low bench along the perimeter of the building.

The house is made up of two parallel volumes of the same width, but of different height and inclination to the gabled roof. The first volume

contains the kitchen, dining room, and living room, with the bathroom and laundry room housed in a smaller cabin within the structure. The second volume, separated in two levels, holds the bedrooms and a small studio. The sharp division between the living room painted white and the dining room in natural pine plywood creates a distinction between the spaces without any walls.

The gray stained inner cabin creates a contrast to the otherwise light interior.

The division of the house into two volumes, slightly shifted from each other, emphasizes the narrowness of the plot while creating natural outdoor spaces in the front and back of the house. When first standing in the open, the urban context has slowly grown around the house and now little more than the gables are exposed to the neighborhood.

Their project House for Mother was nominated for the Private House Award in 2016 by Architects Sweden and won the Plåtpriset Award in 2017. Förstberg Ling was one of twenty practices chosen by Wallpaper magazine for the Architect’s Directory 2017.

Plan 98

Location Linköping, Sweden Area 1453square feet (135 square meters) Completion 2016 Design Förstberg Ling Photography Markus Linderoth

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Top and opposite: Double-height bookshelves divide bedrooms and studio

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Top and opposite: Grey ‘cabin’ area with bathroom and laundry area

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Top and opposite: White-painted interiors

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Villa Björnberget

Villa Björnberget is situated on a hill in a suburb close to Stockholm. The house (former Birkeland House) was extended to meet the new owners’ requirements, a new living room and a separate section to rent out.

The greatest challenge with the project was twofold: design a cost-effective, simple barn house and create an interesting extension that closes the courtyard without shadowing it. The extension is divided into two separate blocks connected to each other. thus creating a right angle and private spaces both indoors and outdoors.

The house was produced in separate elements that were assembled on-site and the materials are simple and cost-effective. The timber cladding was treated with Sioo-X, which eventually will gives it a light silver-grey finish. The roof is made of a zinc-coated plate, a cheap material easy to lay. The interior consists of a polished concrete floor, which is the foundation itself, and plain white walls. The wooden ceiling matches the wood used in the furnishing. The stairs and bridge are made of lacquered steel. The kitchen is made of plywood. The materials are chosen to be simple,

beautiful, and tactile in order to enhance the architectural qualities in the building.

Location Nacka, Sweden

Throughout the project,the focus was always on how the house is experienced as you move in and out of it, how light and materials interact, and how the house incorporates the nature around it.

The Villa Björnberget is framing a piece of land.

It is a simple house, easy to understand and appreciate, yet built from a complex structure.

Area 2583 square feet (240 square meters)

Façades

Floor plan 1 5

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Entrance Kitchen Hallway Bridge Storeroom Technical area Sauna Master bedroom Library TV room Living room with loft Open fireplace Guest apartment with loft Bathroom Terrace

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Completion 2017 Design Buster Delin Photography Patric Johansson and Myrica Bergqvist

View from courtyard

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Left: View of living room from dining area Middle: Entrance to garden from living area Right: Custom-made furniture in dining area

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Title:

The Nordic Home

Author:

John Arne Bjerknes (ed.)

ISBN:

9781864707960

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