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Small wood house on the coast of Norway, just next to the water

Architects: Asante Architecture & Design
Location: Stokkøya, Åfjord, Norway
Year: 2015
Area: 646 ft²/ 60 m²
Photo courtesy: Marius Rua
Description:

“A small house on the coast of Norway, just next to the water, overlooking the neighboring islands and the Norwegian Sea. The house is part of the project Bygda 2.0, a rural development project on the island of Stokkøya, focusing on developing modern Norwegian houses into a dynamic village. Businesses and research activities are combined with places to live, work, enjoy and relax. Architecture, sustainability, and exceptional cuisine are in focus.

Our client, a chef on the same island, decided to settle down and to be surrounded by this beautiful landscape and concept. His dream was a small house where he could overlook the sea from all of his rooms. It turned into a house that co-exists in perfect harmony with nature. At night he can watch the full moon lighting up the sea, reflecting its bright light into his living room. He can enjoy the northern lights while taking a bath in his bathtub that is submerged into the rocks. He can even fish from his balcony.

The house is separated into two units. The lower unit consists of the entrance and bathroom, and the higher unit consists of the kitchen, living room and a loft situated over the kitchen. These two units are slightly offset to each other. This shift causes the front of the house to naturally have an inviting open space for the entrance towards the road, while creating at the back of the house, intimacy and privacy for the bathroom’s facade that is facing the water. The kitchen window, by the entrance, is framed with firewood storage possibility. There are smaller windows towards the road and large panoramic windows towards the water.

The house is constructed of wood and has a wooden siding that is incorporated not only on the outer walls but internally as well. The façade has to endure harsh weather and thus it is constructed with maintenance free burned wood, a traditional Japanese technique incorporated into the Norwegian context. Part of the house is standing on wooden pillars, overhanging the steep rocks that lead down to the water, and the other half is a concrete slab on solid ground. The roof is made of sedum grass, adding some greenery to the rocky landscape. The heating system is a modern wood stove with water jacket that works alongside a solar water heater.

Wooden panels with different treatments offer a variety of color for the interior of the house. Floor tiles enhance the entrance and the bathroom flooring. The bathtub is clad with the same tiles as the ones used for the bathroom floor. It is submerged into the floor to give an undisturbed and uninterrupted view of the nature outside giving a feeling of stepping right into the landscape. The trapezoidal metal sheets of the interior roof are left exposed giving a playful contrast to the warm wood while reflecting the light from the sky and the water into the building.”

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