The perfect home can be found in unexpected places. As our cities become increasingly dense and urbanisation causes congestion and land prices to rise, creative approaches to home building are often the only way forward. Swedish architecture firm Elding Oscarson’s latest residential clients are a case in point.
The unusual plot sits over an eight-car garage.
Their new home, just outside Stockholm, sits on a large plot atop a submerged car park – admittedy not the typical site for a warm and refined family home. Indeed, it was by coincidence that this couple of art-loving clients came across a piece of land, while looking for a larger flat. The plot sits above an eight-car garage on the island of Lidingö, a short trip from the Swedish capital's centre.
‘This was not what they were looking for, yet it felt just right’, recall the architects. ‘Soon a dream of a house with an integrated gallery started to form’. The house incorporated part of the garage space, which required little redesign to become appropriate for domestic indoor living.
The house includes a brand new structure on top of the repurposed garage space.
By cutting part of the roof slab, the architects connected the repurposed building with the new addition above ground; a sharp, white rectangular volume that now defines the site. Within it, a top level contains four bedrooms of various sizes and a ground floor is composed of a single, open room dotted with windows and artworks. The two levels are connected via a spiral feature staircase under a skylight.
The interior seems minimalist and stark, yet it doesn’t turn its back to its natural context and unusual setting. ‘With daylight and views from all four facades and a generous height under its tightly pitched plywood beams, this space is blending with the nature and trees surrounding it’, say the architects
Gallery House is located on Lidingö island
The top floor consists of four bedrooms of varying sizes.
The ground level is open, configured as a singe living space that also accomodates pieces from the owners' art collection.
The clients wanted a family home that could also serve as a gallery for their art.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the website of Elding Oscarson
-
Inside Alessandro Michele’s showstopping debut haute couture show for ValentinoThis afternoon in Paris (29 Janaury 2025), the Italian designer hit new heights with an eclectic, era-traversing couture collection for Valentino
-
Inside Bell Labs, the modernist vision behind Severance's minimalist settingWe explore the history of Bell Labs - now known as Bell Works - the modernist Eero Saarinen-designed facility in New Jersey, which inspired the dystopian minimalist setting of 'Severance'
-
Toronto’s DesignTO 2025 highlights – design and art to see across the cityAt DesignTO, the largest festival of its kind in Canada, determined artists and designers gather in Toronto in full embrace of chilly weather. Our on-the-ground correspondent reports on its standout moments
-
A bold new water tower by White Arkitekter strides across the Swedish landscapeThe Våga Water Tower in Varberg is a monument to civil engineering, a functional concrete sculpture that's designed to last for centuries
-
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
