Architects Directory alumnus: In Praise of Shadows

Swedish architecture firm In Praise Of Shadows likes experimentation. Ever since we featured the small, dynamic studio in our Architects Directory in 2013, the Stockholm based firm, founded by Katarina Lundeberg and Fredric Benesch, has been exploring ways of creating architecture, focused on sustainable materials and wooden constructions as an intelligent way to build.

‘[In this context] our aim and interest is to create clean, easily legible spaces and clear forms, while being practical and meeting the needs and dreams of our clients,' says Lundeberg. ‘We also hope to create twists on what is considered normal, or the ordinary, but without going too far towards the impossible.'

Their Wallpaper* Handmade pavilion Passage of Wood, created with Danish wood specialist Dinesen and Carpenter Oliver Beer, a cabinetmaker from Bregenzerwald, in 2014 was a key example of their investigative nature – the pair not only truly enjoyed the process of discovery and collaboration, but they even ensured their design got a new lease of life as a kayak house a few years ago (see the May 2018 issue of Wallpaper*). Now, the studio has just completed a new project that allowed them to test materials and ideas; welcome to Atelier Grytnäs.

The compact holiday cabin was created as a small retreat for Lundberg and her family, and as such it contains just one main living space and three modest bedrooms and a bathroom. It was also a chance to try out the potential of CLT (cross-laminated solid timber) in a small scale structure – the project spans just 44 sq m.

A simple volume with a clean, pitched roof outline features large openings that frames sea views, as the cabin is perched on rocks and orientated towards the water. Creating this using CLT wooden boards from KLH in Austria, the architects were able to achieve a comfortable 4m x 10m span, which allows a column-free interior. The bathroom and a concrete chimney create an anchoring core for the structure.

The project also includes sustainable, wood fibre insulation from Steico, a copper roof, and Swedish wood facade. Interiors are warm and similarly minimalist, featuring Dinesen Ash wood flooring and linseed oil treated walls. 

Sat in its beautiful natural setting, on Lisö Island, an hour's drive south of Stockholm, Atelier Grytnäs is in good company; the Gunnar Asplund-designed Summer House, and Blueberry house by British architect Ralph Erskine can also be found nearby.

‘We feel that our ten year old office is still in the beginning,' says Benesch. ‘Our aim is to do interesting architecture while maintaining a relatively small scale (we now have a staff of five-six employees), in order to be able to be personally involved in the design process, from initial idea to the last detail.'

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