Swedish architecture firm In Praise Of Shadows likes experimentation. Ever since we featured the small, dynamic studio in our Architects Directory in 2013, the Stockholm based firm, founded by Katarina Lundeberg and Fredric Benesch, has been exploring ways of creating architecture, focused on sustainable materials and wooden constructions as an intelligent way to build.
‘[In this context] our aim and interest is to create clean, easily legible spaces and clear forms, while being practical and meeting the needs and dreams of our clients,' says Lundeberg. ‘We also hope to create twists on what is considered normal, or the ordinary, but without going too far towards the impossible.'
Their Wallpaper* Handmade pavilion Passage of Wood, created with Danish wood specialist Dinesen and Carpenter Oliver Beer, a cabinetmaker from Bregenzerwald, in 2014 was a key example of their investigative nature – the pair not only truly enjoyed the process of discovery and collaboration, but they even ensured their design got a new lease of life as a kayak house a few years ago (see the May 2018 issue of Wallpaper*). Now, the studio has just completed a new project that allowed them to test materials and ideas; welcome to Atelier Grytnäs.
The compact holiday cabin was created as a small retreat for Lundberg and her family, and as such it contains just one main living space and three modest bedrooms and a bathroom. It was also a chance to try out the potential of CLT (cross-laminated solid timber) in a small scale structure – the project spans just 44 sq m.
RELATED STORY
A simple volume with a clean, pitched roof outline features large openings that frames sea views, as the cabin is perched on rocks and orientated towards the water. Creating this using CLT wooden boards from KLH in Austria, the architects were able to achieve a comfortable 4m x 10m span, which allows a column-free interior. The bathroom and a concrete chimney create an anchoring core for the structure.
The project also includes sustainable, wood fibre insulation from Steico, a copper roof, and Swedish wood facade. Interiors are warm and similarly minimalist, featuring Dinesen Ash wood flooring and linseed oil treated walls.
Sat in its beautiful natural setting, on Lisö Island, an hour's drive south of Stockholm, Atelier Grytnäs is in good company; the Gunnar Asplund-designed Summer House, and Blueberry house by British architect Ralph Erskine can also be found nearby.
‘We feel that our ten year old office is still in the beginning,' says Benesch. ‘Our aim is to do interesting architecture while maintaining a relatively small scale (we now have a staff of five-six employees), in order to be able to be personally involved in the design process, from initial idea to the last detail.'
MORE FROM WALLPAPER* ARCHITECTS DIRECTORY 2020
INFORMATION
-
Paul Smith’s Claridge’s Christmas tree is a playful slice of ‘countryside in the centre of London’Sir Paul Smith is the latest in a long line of fashion designers to curate the iconic Claridge’s Christmas tree. Here, he talks to Wallpaper* about the inspiration behind the tree, which features bird boxes and wooden animals
-
Victoire de Castellane nods to Dior motifs in a new fine jewellery collectionFor the latest additions to the My Dior collection, Victoire de Castellane turns the house’s signature cannage motif into golden wonders
-
After the floods, Valencia’s design community unitesValencia's design community launches ‘Auction for Action’ and 'Interioristas en Acción' (IED), initiatives to raise money for those effected by the floods in Spain
-
This Swedish summer house is a family's serene retreat by the trees and the Baltic seaHorsö, a Swedish summer house by Atelier Alba is a playfully elegant retreat by the Kalmarsund Sea and a natural reserve
-
Explore wood architecture, Paris' new timber tower and how to make sustainable construction look ‘iconic’A new timber tower brings wood architecture into sharp focus in Paris and highlights ways to craft buildings that are both sustainable and look great: we spoke to project architects LAN, and explore the genre through further examples
-
This Stockholm house cascades towards the Swedish seashoreA private Stockholm house by Ström Architects makes the most of its natural setting, while creating a serene haven for its owners
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneerBack in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
-
Sun-drenched Los Angeles houses: modernism to minimalismFrom modernist residences to riveting renovations and new-build contemporary homes, we tour some of the finest Los Angeles houses under the Californian sun
-
Cabin Kiladalen in Sweden takes architectural reuse to the next levelCabin Kiladalen by Vardehaugen started its life in an Oslo exhibition, but has now found a second life as a Swedish lakeside retreat
-
Vemdalen Villas brings contemporary minimalism to the skiing experienceThe family of dwellings at Vemdalen Villas, designed by architecture studio Hesselbrand, creates a contemporary skiing experience in the Swedish countryside
-
Tour Hallen, architect Åsa Hjort’s minimalist Swedish homeHallen by Åsa Hjort is a minimalist home in the Swedish countryside, making the most of its serene, leafy location
