Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Nordic Architecture Special – Sweden
Villa Saturnus, Limited Edition.
20 years of life-affirming architecture
– now aiming to revolutionise the work space From the most technologically intensive private home in Sweden to an awardwinning zero-energy villa, Sweden’s lowest u-value windows, and the first Svanen eco-certification for an architectural firm ever, Pål Ross has countless impressive firsts under his belt. But of course, this is what drives him: an urge to question everything with the aim of designing life-affirming houses that make people happy. By Linnea Dunne | Photos: Design Pål Ross, Photographer Mikael Damkier
“We celebrated with pomp and circumstance!” exclaims the architect and founder of Ross Architecture & Design when asked about the firm’s 20th anniversary. “It’s quite unusual for architecture firms to be celebrating jubilees this way, but then again we’ve always done things our own way. Over the past 20 years we have added a dimension that wasn’t previously there and completely turned architecture 92 | Issue 93 | October 2016
on its head with a philosophy about habitats that has raised more than a few eyebrows.”
Organic flows and optimised square metres Ross sure has shaken things up, but his principles are not shaky in the slightest. His creations are a far cry from the square homes most people are used to, instead respecting the natural flow of life and
steering clear of straight lines. “Square houses are illogical,” he says. “Nothing in nature is square, and we don’t move in squares.” Affordable and good are not mutually exclusive, he insists, explaining that a highly streamlined construction process cuts the labour costs when building a house, leaving room in the budget for far better materials. In addition, Ross is certain that size does not matter: “I’ve questioned this obsession with architecture being measured in square metres. You buy a house and the first thing people ask is how big it is. It’s like if you say you’re married and people would ask how many kilogrammes your husband weighs,” Ross explains. “The shape and design of