Wood and glass frame of a summer house surrounded by woods on Sweden’s southern coast

Architects: Johan Sundberg
Location: Beddingestrand, Sweden
Year: 2014
Photo courtesy: Peo Olsson
Description:

“Johan Sundberg Arkitektur’s latest work is an ample, yet succinct summerhouse on Sweden’s southernmost coast. Positioned with care in the forest by the popular Beddinge Strand, the plot is situated on an embankment that formerly demarcated the coast, but has since been engulfed by the surrounding woods. The area’s languid and balmy summers are counterbalanced in winter by brisk sea winds and salty air. The building opens to the Baltic Sea in the south, while the northern side faces the forest.

The summerhouse itself is laid out like a large, wooden platform on three long concrete beams. Its timber and glass frame lends it a distinctive form that at once melds with and sets it apart from the surrounding landscape. The roof overhang creates a protected zone along the perimeter of the house whilst the terrace floor appears to hover slightly above the ground. From inside, there are breathtaking views of the surrounding expanses of sea and forest.

The façade is clad in Siberian larch paneling in a variety of treatments, with each surface and juncture aiding in the definition of each building element, from walls, screens and ceilings to eaves and edges. The building’s outer layers are clad with planed larch panels to achieve smoother, undisrupted surfaces and accentuate the junctures in a way that would have been impossible with planks. All non-organic material under the terrace frame – such as concrete beams and plinths, stair stringers and razor-thin zinc-plated steel risers – belongs to the ground below.

As the house’s owner, one is in full possession of the site’s myriad qualities: the elevated position between wood and waterfront, the shaded and protected northern façade, and the heightened interaction with the weather – be it wind, rain or sun.