The Hat House, Tina Bergman Architects' latest residential project, is an idyllic forest retreat seemingly coming straight out of the land of fairy tales, and tucked away in the woods near Tänndalen in west Sweden. The London-based, Sweden-born architect conceived this compact piece of cabin architecture for a family of five, their dog, and their many occasional guests.
The Hat House by Tina Bergman Architects
The project had to follow local planning regulations, which stipulated that nothing above 100 sq m can be built in the region – therefore, it was doubly important for the team to find the perfect spot to place the cabin, in order to maximise views, sense of space inside, and minimise its impact to the environment. 'I travelled to the site with my clients on an unusually warm weekend at the end of May: met with that intense green of newly sprung birch leaves and a near complete silence, our aim was to find a spot to place the building,' Bergman writes. 'We found it soon: a naturally formed clearing, withdrawn from the forest road, with views to the mountains and a lake to the south and west, and with yellow orchids growing in the east.'
Made out of timber, the retreat resembles in form the home from a Swedish fairy tale about three children living in a hat – lending the house its name. At the same time, the structure takes its material cues from its natural environment, featuring a spruce floor, beautifully weathered Kebony pine heart cladding, with a glulam and softwood overall framework construction. Large windows further perfect this synergy between land and architecture. 'It is a house intensely following the seasons of the year; the blue faint light of midwinter, the bursting green of new summer, the misty yellows of the autumn mountains,' said Bergman.
-
The best hotels in Hong KongFrom sky-high glamour to intimate design sanctuaries, here's our pick of Hong Kong's finest stays
-
Stay in a Parisian apartment which artfully balances minimalism and warmthTour this pied-a-terre in the 7th arrondissement, designed by Valeriane Lazard
-
In Thom Browne’s newest store, prep meets Palm BeachThe American fashion designer has brought his affinity for midcentury design to a '50s-era shopping centre
-
‘Close to solitude, but with a neighbour’: Furu’s cabins in the woods are a tranquil escapeTaking its name from the Swedish word for ‘pine tree’, creative project management studio Furu is growing against the grain
-
Stockholm Wood City: inside the extraordinary timber architecture projectStockholm Wood City is leading the way in timber architecture; we speak to the people behind it to find out the who, what, why and how of the project
-
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
-
Tour this Estonian tiny home with big ambitionsÖÖD Golden House, a new Estonian cabin concept, promises to offer a compact design for small and perfectly formed escapes
-
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
-
The heat is on: mobile sauna heralds a new breed of experimental hot boxesEmma O’Kelly explores the emerging world of mobile sauna design in Germany, Norway and the UK, where new design approaches are taking this ancient practice into the modern era
