Wind-Shielded Modern House Design – Summer House Vestfold 2 by JVA

One of the underlying principles of modern house design is to create structures that blend seamlessly into the surroundings, as typified by the Summer House Vestfold 2 by Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects. The Norway-based design practice completed the project in 2009. It is located on the rocky shores of Vestfold, a county in Norway. The flat structure whose exterior integrates weathered wood and natural stone sits quietly on the stony beach, looking out onto the ocean. It seems as if it’s been there forever, on the one hand. On the other, the intelligence of this design immediately becomes apparent, as one starts to investigate the way in which the architects integrated the site’s specifics into the floor plans.

It seems that modern house design attains a new level of freedom of expression when the architects are commissioned to create a holiday home. For this project, the team at JVA replaced an older building, which once stood on the rocky plot. Their mission was to create a home that was “well adjusted to the terrain, both in terms of shape, scale, material and color.” They built the current terraced home on existing stone walls, as well as newer walls, made of stones that resulted from demolishing the old ones. They cut hallways into the low elongated volume to allow for the wind-shielded outdoor areas, which hold the home in a safe embrace. The terraces and outdoor pool are protected against wind by a glass fence, which grants the inhabitants unrestricted access to the entire view. The home is dressed in Kebony wood, “a sustainable process of treating the wood to allow for good durability towards the exposure to salt water.”

(Source: JVA.no)