LagnöLagnöLagnö
The setting is the Stockholm archipelago, with natural ground sloping gently down to the sea in the south, mostly open with a few trees and bushes. Unlike other projects we have worked on, located on more isolated islands in the archipelago without mainland access, this site was relatively easy to reach, even for heavy transport.
This, together with the client’s desire for a maintenance-free house, inspired us to design the dwelling as an integral part of nature. We sought a material weight and colour palette that connects to the archipelago’s granite bedrock, rather than a light wooden cottage. The two building volumes are placed side by side, forming a line that clarifies their position in the landscape, just at the border where the forest opens up onto the bay.
When approached from the north, the entrance presents itself as an opening between the buildings, providing direction towards the light and water. It is a transitional outdoor space, protected from the rain by a pitched glass canopy.
The exterior character of the house is derived from a series of transverse gable roofs that connect to one another, forming a pleated, long façade reminiscent of a row of boathouses. This provides a sequence of varied ceiling heights for the interior and creates distinct areas within the otherwise completely open living room, which stretches the entire length of the main building. With a relatively shallow room depth and continuous sliding glass partitions opening onto the terrace, the space can be described as a niche in relation to the archipelago landscape outside.
The smaller rooms are located along the north façade, with access via a wall of sliding doors. They are lit by operable skylights and form smaller, pitched-ceiling volumes within the main roof structure.
The terrace, interior floors, and façades are made of exposed, natural-coloured in situ cast concrete with plywood formwork. The interior is painted white, with woodwork in ash. A sauna—a detached block of in situ cast concrete with a wooden interior—offers a secluded retreat near the beach and pier.
