A private family retreat
The clients are a family with small children, an also wanted room for their extended family and friends. The conceptual layout was conceived as several individual volumes connected via in-between spaces and a central winter garden, placed on a natural shelf in the terrain.
The organisation provides both privacy and room for several activities at the same time, quiet as well as kid’s play. The central winter garden is designed as an in-between and outdoor space with a custom fireplace and an outdoor kitchen, framed by the exterior walls of the cabin’s separate volumes. Each group of rooms are done as separate volumes with an oak interior and custom furniture, where the oak has the natural warmth to contrast the arctic outdoors brought into the rooms via the glass north wall.
The entire exterior of each individual volume is clad in cedar and weathered on-site before installation to remove the contrast between inside and out. You take a step down on the concrete floor of the in-between spaces, only glass separating the in-between spaces from the outdoors. However, the in-between spaces are also designed to be functional spaces, providing room for unplanned activities or a makeshift private space. The living room and dining area are another few steps down, following the natural terrain. The earthbound connection is emphasised through concrete flooring and walls with an integrated fireplace and kitchen.
All interiors and furniture were either custom-designed or chosen to create a holistic experience, but also to underline the uniqueness of the different spaces and functions.
The walls are deep as in the historic protective stone buildings and concrete forts and on the exterior side there is even space for an integrated covered bench to snuggle on, no matter the weather.