Scan Magazine | Design Profile | Ross Architecture & Design
has brought the firm to Denmark, while conversations with a client in Florida are ongoing. “Working in new markets means that we have to fine tune our routines as we work with people who bring questions from a different cultural context, and that allows us to grow and improve,” the architect says.
Living life with a tailwind Ever since he founded his Stockholm firm back in 1996, Ross has been guided by a keen belief that life is not square – one that has shaped his work and made his creations stand out in unmistakable ways. “There are no straight lines in nature. No rivers flow in perfectly straight lines; it’s only we humans who make straight ditches,” he explains. “So you either build straight, square houses and expect humans to adapt, or you pay attention to natural human moving patterns and build accordingly. Take spiral staircases, for instance: they can flow the right way so that you just keep moving as you get up, or they can require sudden stops and awkward turns. Both bring you up – but with one, you just dance on. It’s like living life with a tailwind.” Moreover, Ross insists that quality is always cheaper in the long-run. “It’s OK to spend 50 per cent more on a house that will stand more than five times longer – actually, it’s much cheaper,” he says. This mindset means that the firm is always thinking ahead, including features that you might otherwise miss ten years down the line. In the early days, they
imported central vacuum systems from the States as you couldn’t get them in Sweden, something Ross finds incredible, considering their superiority with regards to pollen allergies and similar. The same goes for features such as lifts, guest spaces and raised washing machines. “It may be OK to bend over to do your laundry now, but it won’t be when you’re older,” Ross asserts. “It just makes so much financial sense. You spend more now and reap the benefits forever.”
Founder and lead architect Pål Ross. Photo: James Holm.
Grand Designs As if he needed proof of the grandness of his creations, Pål Ross and one of his new Swedish projects have now been selected to be featured in the first ever Swedish season of the successful TV show Grand Designs, giving viewers insight into a radically different kind of architecture and construction. That’s in addition to a long list of awards and accolades, including Best Single Residence Sweden at the European Property Awards in 2014 and Sweden’s Most Beautiful Villa in 2009. With an impressive portfolio of customers who are still happy and loving their homes as much as 18 years later, none of this is surprising – not to the architect himself, nor to anyone who’s ever come across his passionate, pedagogical plea for better-quality, smarter, more healthy homes for people who dare to think outside the box. Or, as Ross himself would put it, for people who dare to dream of living in a work of art.
About Pål Ross: Pål Ross was born in Stockholm in 1961. He grew up the grandson of a mechanical engineer and the son of an artist. As a boy, he loved creating elaborate designs and entire little towns with LEGO, and building cardboard spaceships. When Pål Ross was six years old, his mother got a stipend to go to Spain and work on an exhibition, and so they spent a number of years there. Ross is now fluent in Spanish. Before his career in architecture, Ross worked as a teacher in mathematics and physics, and he admits to having considered studying psychology at one point. A pedagogical streak and a keenness to listen to his customers are still evident in everything he does. Ross founded Ross Architecture & Design in 1996 and has since drawn well in excess of 300 exclusive villas. Ross houses are characterised by organic shapes and a luxurious feel.
Don’t miss out – register your interest now! Ross Architecture & Design is busy and fully booked all spring and summer, so if you want to discuss a project for the autumn or winter, make sure to get in touch now.
Villa Casa Blanca. Photo: Ossian Tove
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Issue 124 | May 2019 | 13