Swedish studio Johan Sundberg Arkitektur planned the summertime retreat for a couple with two children in Beddingestrand, on Sweden’s southern coast. In a summerhouse a certain amount of reduction might be soothing to the mind,» said Sundberg. Related story: Softly contoured interiors lend cave-like aesthetic to lakeside cabinNamed Sommarhus Akenine, the cabin consists of a single timber and glass volume, perched on an embankment between sandy dunes and woodland. Small spotlights are set into the overhang to light the area after dark. «Its timber and glass frame lends it a distinctive form that at once melds with and sets it apart from the surrounding landscape,» said the architect. «The terrace floor appears to hover slightly above the ground,» Johan Sundberg told Dezeen. Inside, two pairs of bedrooms sit at either end of the cabin with an open-plan living and dining area sandwiched in the middle. Wide timber steps at the north side of the property bridge the gap between ground level and terrace. Windows afford views of the Baltic Sea to the south, and woodland views to the north. «It is also very much in our Scandinavian architectural DNA.»
The flat roof overhangs the terrace to create shelter from the elements. Larch is the predominant material both inside and outside, and is used in a variety of treatments that help to subtly define decking from interior floor and cladding from roof. Project credits:
Architect in charge: Johan Sundberg
Project architects: Daniel Gerse, Max Germundsson
Structural engineer: Anders Sandgren, Ramböll
Construction: SAWI Byggnads AB in Trelleborg, Bengt Hansson
Interior carpenters: Malmö Kök inredning, Andreas
Site plan – click for larger imageFloor plan – click for larger imageSection one – click for larger imageSection two – click for larger image «From inside, there are breathtaking views of the surrounding expanses of sea and forest.»
The pale timber floors and white walls used throughout the interior are contrasted by a brightly coloured, diamond-patterned wall and a black wood-burning stove in the living space. «I wanted the house to sit lightly on the ground, to feel elevated and transparent to the visitor arriving from the north.»
The single-storey building is faced in smooth-planed Siberian larch and sits in the centre of a large roughly hewn timber platform that creates a wrap-around terrace.
