The narrow site is sandwiched

between old buildings in Landskrona, Sweden. Though nicely situated by the

beach in a growing region, this city has become notorious for its social

problems, originally set off by the wharf industry crisis in the 80’s. Our lot

has been empty since mid 1900’s. It is barely 5 meters wide with a tiny area of

75 square meters, facing a street but also a colorful hidden world inside the

city block. We wanted keep a strong presence of this small-scale, motley,

naturally worn place in the completed project – a feeling of almost being

outdoor.



Immediately adjacent buildings are

low, but the street is lined with buildings of various height, size, facade

material, age, and approach. After careful study of the site dimensions through

physical models, we reached the conclusion that the site was so small that a

rectilinear approach would enrich the street with a novel feature, a

syncopation of its rhythm, while staying sensitive to the environment. We

wanted to create a sharp contrast; to express inherent clarity, but more

importantly to highlight the beauty of the surroundings.



Our clients, a couple dealing with

art and running a café, plan to settle here for good. As they want to use the

house as a private gallery, they need walls for art, not for privacy. We made a

single space, softly partitioned by thin exposed steel slabs. These span the

entire width of the house and divide its program – kitchen, dining, living,

library, bed, bath, and a roof terrace. A home office is located in a separate

building across a small garden. Mechanical and service spaces fit next to the

entrance. Gross area is 125 square meters.



This simple system creates an array

of different spatial experiences in this very small project. It aims at a

non-minimalistic and lively sequence of confined and airy spaces, niches,

interiors and exteriors, horizontal and vertical views as well as carefully

framed views of the site. The continuous interior space is opening up to the

street, to the middle of the block, and to the sky above. This openness to all

directions generates a building volume that is both monolithic and transparent.

All facades are treated equally, exposing the interior and offering views

through the building with similar apertures whether on the front, back or

sides.



Energy consumption 57% lower than

the regulation was reached through the use of an air-source heat pump and a

ventilation system with heat recovery, wall construction of LECA sandwich

blocks with integrated EPS insulation, and a sedum roof delaying temperature

fluctuations between day and night. The wall construction is, except for being

ideal to build right up to the neighbors’ walls on this difficult site, fully breathable,

needing no vapor barrier, and exclusively composed of materials that cannot

mold.



Though these technical aspects are

important to a responsible architectural practice, we find that our process is

sustainable in a wider sense. We have taken great care to thoroughly study

everything from all imaginable dimensions, light, transparency, spatial

sequences, domestication of street space, and, of course, detailing. Only this

way, we can truly challenge the task, the site, the client, and persisting

conventional thought – being bold and sensitive at the same time.