Garden HouseGarden HouseGarden House
The client wanted a garden and decided to leave an apartment in downtown Stockholm for a house on the Mälaren lakefront. Consequently, we proposed a building that would become part of the garden’s vegetation by wrapping it in a trellis for vines and seven different plant species—a vertical garden. The project can, in fact, be defined as a set of three vertical gardens that create outdoor spaces with three different characters. The building—in pragmatic terms, the shelter from the elements—comprises the space between these three garden rooms.
The triangular footprint is driven by a steep slope that crosses the site diagonally. The shape of the plan also made it possible to avoid a façade facing due north, which provided better daylighting and conditions for the vines. A two-storey winter garden underscores the home’s gradual transition between the interior and exterior, and also helps temper its fresh air supply. A roof terrace offers views across the surrounding landscape.
The entire house is made of wood, and the warm tone of the trellis recurs in the interior panelling.
The floor plan is designed around a centrally placed stair. The entry is located in a box that separates the kitchen from the library, two rooms that borrow space from the living room and winter garden. Above the open-plan entrance level, a more compact and enclosed second floor holds the bedrooms, a study and a family bathroom, including a sauna. From the upper hallway, a stair in a wide lantern leads up to an open roof terrace, where the house reconnects with the wide-open space of the landscape.
