A fabulous functional house on the shores of a Swedish lake

 Single-family residence. Borås. Sweden

Architecture: Claesson Koivisto Rune Architects

Photography  ©   Superstudio / Patrik Johall

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 Claesson Koivisto Rune Architects:

“The clients had bought a plot, not far at all from their hometown, but in a surprisingly secluded setting best described as otherworldly. The idea was for a ‘getaway’ house – a private place to go to for a weekend or so – to swiftly get away from stress, work, city."

The sloping and rather inaccessible plot were a clear challenge for construction. The other constraint was a building allowance that was for a mere 60 square metres, with the addition of a couple of smaller accessory constructions. Yet the expectation was for a fully functional home for a family of four.

Claesson Koivisto Rune Architects:

"It was established from the outset to leave this enchanted nature as intact as possible, with a small visual imprint of the new. The concept can be likened to rock crystals breaking out from the hill between the trees, barely touching the ground. Only two materials are dominant: glass and galvanized steel. Chosen to meet the demand of being maintenance free, but adding also the quality of being pure and ‘honest’, as the zinc is left untreated to slowly oxidise and patinise. 

The main feature of the main house is inside: A central ‘solid’ core cube, containing bathroom, kitchen and storage, is twisted at a 45-degree to the house itself. And this is how an open plan still have four defined ‘rooms’ – entrance/kitchen, dining room, living-room, bedroom – with an intact spatial flow. This core cube is entirely clad in wood, adding warmth to the otherwise ‘hard’ palette of concrete, glass and steel. The inner cube is continued structurally underneath the house, making for the central ‘mushroom stalk’ foundation from which most of the house cantilevers out from.”