The brief came out of the very limited budget: a house as simple as possible. Equally simple as the barn we wanted to convert to a summer dwelling, but which never showed up on the market: one open space with a large number of possible beds, cooking in the middle, washing facilities outside the house. Planing regulations ruled the placement of the house to the inner part of the plot which at the time of designing was still densly vegetated and scarcely accesible. Hence the house was designed with generic qualities, creating no front- or backside, treating all sides of the site equally. Four large openings 2,4x2m are placed according to rotational symmetry, one in each facade. Facing north is a fixed window, the other three are glazed doors. There is no hierarchy between the doors – anyone can be used as an entrance. Two roof windows add skylight to the interior.

Hamra - Photograph by Elisabeth Toll

• Architects: DinellJohansson
• Project: HAMRA
• Location: Hamra, Gotland, Sweden
• Completion Year: 2010
• Area: 64 sqm
• Photographer: Elisabeth Toll
• Software used: Bentley MicroStation

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