Villa Arkö by Marge Arkitekter
![Villa Arkö is set on the shore, surrounded by rocks and a lot of greenery and trees. It's a modern-looking house, made out of natural materials, mostly wood.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hNuiez2e8XNzHEwZmZgi29-415-80.jpg)
With its steeply pitched roof and stepped volumes, the clean lines of the villa mimics the rocky terrain it sits on
Assorted terraces and a long veranda create a relaxed yet dynamic living space, perfect for a vacation home
The materials used mirror the natural tones of the surrounding cliffs, with oak used extensively throughout the interior
The rectangular extension lends itself well to the social functions of the ground floor, which includes an open kitchen, guest room and lounge, all of which are based around a brick fireplace
Meanwhile, the high, slanted ceilings enclose the more private spaces on the second floor, where a ladder leads up to a bright, cosy loft above the bathroom
A voluminous interior allows the air to circulate, while thick slatted sliding doors provide additional shade and large skylights can be opened to cool down the interior further during the summer months
The cedar wood facade will fade with age, eventually blending in with the pale grey roof
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
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).
-
Take off: Mathieu Lehanneur's Olympic Cauldron rises into the Parisian night sky
The Paris 2024 Olympics’ opening ceremony was closed with a soaring cauldron spectacle that will go down in history
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published