This simple but sustainable home hovers over a rocky landscape as Sanden+Hodnekvam Arkitekter enlists to pillars to leave the natural site undisturbed
Built for a young couple and their dogs, the brief for this house was simple; to be well-designed, sustainable and low budget. The site is natural and lush, with rocks and a forest clearing which architect Sanden+Hodnekvam wanted to adopt as its main outdoor space. To do so, the home was built on the most unusable and unbuildable part of the plot, set on pillars to preserve the site topography. The home’s distinctive loadbearing structure is visible on both exterior and interior as it elevates the building off the land.
The 114m2 home's open plan and direct engagement with its context make it appear much larger than it is, with internal sliding doors allowing for more privacy when needed. Located at the centre of the house is an open space below a skylight in the corrugated aluminium roof, which, alongside large windows that face over the garden and out to InnerOslofjord, bring light into every corner of the interior. Walls are lined inside with Norwegian pine plywood, while the exterior cladding is of long-lasting, local, cured Ore pine.
Sanden and Hodnekvam established their Oslo firm in 2014 and have been nominated for the EUMies Prize. Most recently, it is one of six young practices appointed on a framework agreement run by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration for its future National Tourist Road projects.
Sanden+Hodnekvam with Jan-Carlos Kucharek