KLOSTER BY TORSTEN OTTESJÖ

"Kloster is a strip of land on the edges of the west coast of Sweden designed by Torsten Ottesjö. Two years ago he selectively cut trees from the landscape to create a vision for what the rolling southern ends of the scandinavian fjords could look like. 

Kloster is an idea - built for a new class, a new market - It is complex, beautiful, biomorphic. It considers its environment and can house physical manifestations of online networks. 

It is a centre, a place where we believe that networks of people could meet during conferences, banquet dinners, residencies or summer residences, which would allow for the understanding of what a house placed within a landscape could be.

The idea is that cattle would be allowed to free graze the landscape, slowly transforming the former forest floor to a grassland and with fertile gardens. Situated on the 62 acre landscaped property on the Swedish West Coast, Torsten Ottesjo. Christian Strömqvist, and David Relan have come up with an idea of luxury. 

The two houses are situated above a slope leading down to a dock and private beach, and are aligned to incorporate the ideal light conditions for the morning and scandinavian evenings respectively.

The idea is to provide a shelter for networks to manifest, for conferences and classes, and generally to provide a means of inspiration to occur within groups and to the landscape they find themselves in. 

The structure of the complex is the curling of a leaf - a single surface extended above itself. It is the extension of a floor into a building. Buildings which are built facing the rise and fall of the light in summer. Windows which will diffuse light in at all times of the day and the play of perspectives. Kloster can be adjusted to any needs, but maintains its place, it's context.

It is an environment - landscape and housing - designed for how we move, and how we may meet and we believe that considering these factors might change the depth of the meeting. Kloster is a new opportunity for connected living."Description of Architects.

Location: Swedish West Coast

Architect: Torsten Ottesjö

Projet Team:Torsten Ottesjö, Christian Strömqvist, David Relan

Year: 2012

UMEÅ ART MUSEUM BY HENNING LARSEN ARCHITECTS

Umeå Art Museum is located at the 15,000 m2 new Arts Campus at Umeå University in northern Sweden. The new campus also comprises the Academy of Fine Arts, the Institute of Design and the School of Architecture.

The consolidation of artistic institutes and exhibition facilities is based on a close collaboration between various companies with a view to allow art, design and architecture to benefit from one another.

Umeå's position as a centre of art and education is strenghtened with a new silhouette by the Umeälven river. In its previous facilities, the museum has displayed international contemporary art and classic art-historical exhibitions side by side since 1981.

The new museum more than doubles the exhibition area and, with its protruding, visible location by the river, it will become a new landmark in the area.

The museum comprises three exhibition halls placed on top of each other. The large, square halls are free from load-bearing structures and are supported by four legs, with one leg placed on each side of the square rooms.

Around the exhibition halls, the legs create an outer, narrow gap towards the facades – a niche, which lets the cool sun and sky light pour into the space and merge with the warm artificial light.

In addition to the light effect, the niches allow for natural breaks from the artistic exploring, and the higher up you go, the more you are drawn towards the view of the river, city and landscape. 

The four legs not only support the building but also serve as wells for all vertical movement: elevators, stairs, pipes and ventilation ducts. The entrance and foyer span across the three lower levels and comprise a museum shop, a children’s workshop and an auditorium.

A partly triple-high room serves to connect the spaces. As the other buildings at the Arts Campus, the facade features vertical louvres in Siberian larch, which supports its verticality – only broken by the large windows and the glass floor in the middle.

Umeå Art Museum wishes to attract international artists. This imposes high requirements on museum safety and climate control. The museum connects to the local district heating system and features maintenance-free materials.

 

Location: Umeå, Sweden

Architect: Henning Larsen Architects

Project Team: White Arkitekter, Tyréns, WSP Group, TM-Konsult

Gross floor area: 3.500 m2

Year: 2009 - 2011

Client: Balticgruppen AB

HUS 1 BY TORSTEN OTTESJÖ

Tucked away in a valley on the west coast of Sweden is Hus-1, a tiny home that resembles a giant log. The eco-lodge is a free-standing structure that was designed and built by Scandinavian architect and carpenter, Torsten Ottesjö. The original concept was to create a structure that would reflect its landscape without attracting too much attention.

“I wanted to try to build a house which was seen as beautiful in the same complex way as nature,” states Ottesjö. The result is an energy-efficient small home that was cheap to build and has minimal impact on its surrounding environment.

The small 25 square meter (269 sq ft) home features intricate wooden flooring and curved surfaces, accredited to Ottesjö’s craftsmanship. “By using doubled-curved surfaces and complex forms, I wanted to adapt the house to nature’s infinite variety of form,” says Ottesjö.

The home is large enough to comfortably house two people, with enough room to cater for guests or entertaining. Integrated within the small space is a central kitchen, dining and living area, hallway, sleeping quarters and outdoor terrace.

As for the bathroom, it looks like it has been left off the plans and the backyard shed will have to suffice - not the most convenient design for those chilly Swedish winters! Wooden materials play a prominent role in the home’s framework, insulation, surface layer and fittings. Overall, the surface layers have been kept untreated or white-pigmented with linseed oil.

Despite the lightweight construction of bended and glued dry wood, the building is able to maintain stability. This is achieved by the reinforced board framework and load distribution across larger areas.

Protected from the elements, the exterior walls and roofing have a surface layer of biodegradable, cellulose-based, reinforced board which is wind- and water-resistant. Furthermore, the home can be easily moved and transported to its desired destination. “I wanted to have the opportunity to build the whole house in a hallway in order to lift it easily and transport it, by road, in one piece,” says Ottesjö.

 

 

STATION HYLLIE BY METRO ARKITEKTER

“Hyllie is the first station you reach when travelling by train from Copenhagen's Kastrup airport and is therefore Malmö's gateway to Copenhagen.

This is no traditional station building - we have been working with other elements instead. The large round roof (diameter 45 m) - lit from below using uplights - hovers like a UFO above the station entrance.

The roof is perforated by 52 round lantern lights which allow daylight to penetrate right down to the platforms, thereby eliminating any sense of an underground station.

Daylight and lines of sight have acted as important parameters for creating a safe environment. The station is a regional and local train station with four tracks and two platforms.

Bartenbach LichtLabor of Innsbruck are responsible for the lighting concept. The artistic decoration has been carried out by Kristina Matusch of Malmö.” Description of Metro Arkitekter.

 

Location: Malmö, Sweden

Architect: Metro Arkitekter

Project Team: Claes R Janson, resp; Ola Arnholm, project architect; Carl Kylberg, Anna-Karin Joelsson, HL; Jörgen Åkerlund

Other consultants: ÅF/ Sweco, Tyrens, Sweco

Project Area: 10,000 sqm

Year: 2010

Client: CTP genom Tyréns

Photographs: Rafael Palomo