Summerhouse Lagnö by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter // Sweden.

It seems that lovely little extruded houses abound these days. Of late we’ve seen a pared-back postmodern fruitiness combined with lean and linear plans. Familiar vernacular forms sieved through a tight net of disciplined design. Today we’re in Sweden, to look at a superior example of this type, and what could well be my fantasy weekender. Let’s slap on the Norsca and dive right in.

People who know me well will know that when it comes to anything Scandinavian (and Nordic – hello Finns) I have a bias that borders on insensible. But check out this house by Tham & Videgård architects – such enthusiasm is bestowed upon the deserving.

The house is to be found on Lagnö, in the so-beautiful-it-hurts Stockholm Archipelago. If you ever get the chance to visit this part of the world, take it (and pick a summer month). The form of the house is intended to evoke boat sheds. It’s the sort of critical regionalist response that cooks my meatballs.

Look at all that heavy concrete, seemingly supported on nothing but glass. It’s a very clever architect who knows that windows simply sing when they’re not messed up with structure. Here, an elegant and visually discrete line of steel columns sit just behind the glass line, leaving these wonderful big plates of glass to bring in the daylight and views.

The ceilings have been left clean and uncluttered. Lighting is wall-mounted or courtesy of wisely-chosen lamps. The long living space has foresty watery loveliness to one side, and timbered sliding screens to the other. You could open the whole place up and pour in a magical summer holiday. Sigh.

Inside the bedrooms are so cosy I could squeal. Monastic simplicity without the starkness. AJ wall lights in white – just the way I like them. A skylight that lets the gable-ended prism read more legibly than were a window to be included in the wall. And those warm and snuggly greys in the fabric. Tuck me in and pass me a sandwich cake.

Odin’s beard – they’ve put mosaic tiles all the way up the kitchen ceiling. This is better than ‘Dancing Queen’. There are even ladders up to loft beds under the roof – can you imagine how great this house would be for kids on holiday? With the choices made in materials and strict planning this house could have been severe. It actually looks like fun.

The sort of breezy effortlessness seen here is hard to pull off. A concrete bunker has been made light and airy. Modern construction is made timeless. Old forms seem new again and I think it could be love.

Text by Luke Moloney for Yellowtrace.

[Photos © Åke E:son Lindman.]