The building is situated a stone’s throw from the sea in southern Höllviken in the south of Sweden. The area is rich with tall pine trees, and this plot is no exception. The project comprises three buildings: a residence for the client, a garage, and a small cottage for an aging relative.
The project site involves an old country house, built in 1887 in the immediate neighborhood of Lucca and a most recent farmhand’s cottage. The buildings are integrated in the countryside of Lucca and maintain its typical characteristics.Specifically, the buildings are located in a hilly landscape, between gentle slopes, where oaks and chestnuts lick the property. In this background, the renovation has been directed to both the maintenance and the enhancement of typical elements of the local architecture, such as exposed brick wall, stone of Matraia and chestnut wood.Pursuing this goal, and in full respect of the typical features, the components and materials used have been revised in a contemporary way, adopting the most appropriate construction techniques, in order to ensure the achievement of the best possible result.
In order to use the little old cottage in the hilly landscape of southern Germany, it must be extended. “The house has to fit the location and have character” the customer asks. That is the small but difficult task.
The pre-existing traditional Zagorje cottage is situated on the green slopes near Kumrovec and was structurally and statically in poor condition. It was renovated taking into consideration the characteristics of local heritage and design. The pre-existing house form is kept, while the porch is substituted with a glass cube. To give the cottage southern exposure, the glass form is slided out of the main house volume, simultaneously forming an entrance area. Interaction of interior and exterior spaces is enabled by opening of the glass walls. The cottage consists of three floors: the basement, ground floor and 1st floor, which is comprised of the essential living spaces- leisure/dining/cooking on groundfloor and sleeping areas on the 1st floor. Groundfloor spaces are then arranged following a traditional system of organisation that creates a common zone with the ‘hearth’ .
This small annex is located in the garden of two professionals in a residential area on the outskirts of the city.
The clients wanted a place that would give them space and quiet to focus on their writing and work. At the same time they wanted a view that could somehow remind them of their native West-Norwegian landscapes, this in spite of the site’s location only offering views towards a parking lot and a train station. Their intention was that the project would work as an alternative to a cottage in the countryside.
This cottage was originally a summer residence, like many others in Chamonix, and was therefore not insulated for winter use. No upgrades had been done since its construction approximately 70 years ago.
The house stands on the island of Vega in the Norwegian archipelago not far from the polar circle. The site is distinctive for its grand and harsh northern landscape with wide panoramas of the Norwegian Sea and the jagged mountains rising from it. Seemingly growing from the landscape, the house sits on a rock beneath a granite shoulder negotiating the uneven terrain. As not to disturb the dominant view towards the sea, access to the house is given through a narrow natural ravine densely grown with gnarled birch shrubs and laid out with sea-sand from the nearby shore. The surrounding landscape remains untouched and wild. The large windows of the house face three directions, each with its strong unique characteristic. They are simple and robust in detailing and the optically white glass conveys undisturbed frames of the ocean, the mountain range and the bedrock. Organised on two levels adapting to the terrain, the plan is compact, providing generous social spaces within a limited floor area. The upper level is comprised of smaller scale bedrooms and family rooms, whereas the lower level is a large gallery-like space structured around a stone hearth. Completed in linseed oil painted pine with untreated birch skirting, frames and reveals – the interior is kept subtle with a character of being hand-built – promoting tactile qualities and the attractive patina developed over time.
“It’s doing a lot with a little…the diagonal bracing of the timber and the curtain-walling sing off each other,”
With focus on innovative design sustainable architecture, we at Satellite Architects have been working closely with River Cottage since 2005. River Cottage implements a fully sustainable policy on building materials, energy and carbon outputs and a fully recyclable policy on waste. We at Satellite Architects share an identical vision for the future of the design and built. At Satellite, sustainability is not seen as an added benefit to architectural design but as an integral part of the process.
Context
The building was originally an old wooden shed in very poor condition – a strong candidate for demolition.
The challenge was to find ways to develop and optimize the spaces within a volume that could not be modified due to planning by-laws.
The design and construction of this cottage located in Monument Channel Georgian Bay was completed in 2014.
The cottage is 2,125 sq.ft. and is designed for year round use. The primary building material is Douglas Fir, which was used as the exposed structural frame, ceiling decking, interior wall finishes, interior cabinetry and kitchen island, etc. The design celebrates the simple use of a post and beam structural frame, where the rhythm of the columns, beams and purlins gives an overall organizational logic to the scheme. The wood is either solid sawn or milled to a profile, the timbers are sometimes massive and other times just efficient in their size, all the timbers were prefabricated, drilled for connections, etc. in the factory. The wood is left untreated and natural on the interior and finished with a clear, penetrating oil sealer on the exterior. The exterior cladding is either structural wood or cedar shingles, Ipe is also used as the exterior decking material and for the guardrail top rail/handrail.
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