Vega Cottage by Kolman Boye Architects, Norway

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Vega Cottage
On the remote island of Vega in the Norwegian Sea sits an isolated hideaway for three siblings. Vega Cottage, by Stockholm-based practice Kolman Boye Architects, was built as a haven for the clients to rediscover the area where they spent summers as children exploring the wild Nordic terrain.
(Image credit: Åke E:son Lindman)

Vega Cottage

The architects' intention was to create a modern boathouse - known locally as a naust - inspired by local architecture and materials, such as aged timber cladding for the façade

(Image credit: Åke E:son Lindman)

Vega Cottage

Large, panoramic windows throughout the house bathe the airy spaces in natural light, complemented by pale, neutral palettes

(Image credit: Åke E:son Lindman)

Vega Cottage

'The simple quality of the traditional shoreline huts, which families have used for storing fishing equipment, was the inspiration for the [cottage's] contemporary-vernacular design,' says architect and practice co-founder Erik Kolman Janouch

(Image credit: Åke E:son Lindman)

Vega Cottage

The interior - split across two levels, into two buildings - follows the natural topography of the landscape

(Image credit: Åke E:son Lindman)

Vega Cottage

The whitewashed wood walls were intentionally left untreated to emphasise the ageing process of the timber planks, while also communicating a handmade aspect

(Image credit: Åke E:son Lindman)

Vega Cottage

The generous windows face in three directions, looking out towards dramatic Trollvasstind Mountain, the lonely vista and the icy Norwegian Sea. Janouch explains, 'Looking out one of the windows, you sit and watch an ever-changing wild landscape'

(Image credit: Åke E:son Lindman)
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Ellie Stathaki
Ellie Stathaki

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).