Max Holst

The site is located on Vindö, an island in the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden. Upon first glance the site appears like a fairly typical archipelago plot with granite outcrops, pine trees and blueberry bushes, but soon reveals its unusual dramatic topography presenting an exciting opportunity for the architect Max Holst as well as for the developer Strömma Projekt AB. The building stands on a ridge bordering 10 m deep drop into a gorge: in which a number of magnificent trees, mostly pine but also some hardwood grow. On the sheltered terrace and in the house one finds the tops of these trees at eye-level.

The orientation of the ridge dictates the building’s form and the spatial subdivisions. The spatial emphasis is on the large living, dining and kitchen space, which leads onto to a large sheltered terrace towards south/east. Children’s bedrooms are of a modest scale with a master bedroom located to the East. A bathroom is placed as a buffer between the living and sleeping areas. The hallway acts as a spacious playroom to the neighboring children’s rooms.

The material palette is simple and essentially rooted in local building traditions. Tectonically, the house is composed of black concrete plinths and exposed timber rafters highlight the repetition of a 120 mm module on which the construction is based. The only setback from this strict systematization occurs in the bathroom where the room is simply not suited for these measurements. Room dimensions fall easily into place, becoming an exercise in creating dynamic spaces with a constant connection to the sky and surrounding forest, all within this framework.