Project: Field Timber House
Architecture: Lookofsky Architecture
Design: David Lookofsky
Builder: Indecon Home
Location: Fårö, Gotland N, Sweden
Area: 51 m2
Year: 2020
Photo Credits: Mattias Hamrén Photography
The Field Timber House consists of a series of small units that each contain their own function: a bedroom unit, a unit for communal space, and a reading room unit. The cluster of small volumes is a contemporary interpretation of a local settlement typology traditionally seen in old fishing villages and small farmhouses on the island of Fårö. As the needs of the owner or future generations evolve, new units can be added to the structure in sequence, creating overlapping spaces inside- and out.
The house is clad in solid larch wood boards – a traditional cladding method for houses in the area. Transformed by the weather, the color of the wood exterior will eventually evolve from golden brown to silver grey. The concrete foundation, floor, and terrace give the house a continuous base that references the characteristic limestone bedrock of Gotland.
Square green openings in the concrete open up the monolithic surface and make the terrace become part of both the house and the field. The interior of the house is clad in birch plywood, providing a warm atmosphere on the inside. Storage and furniture are efficiently integrated into the walls.
With these features hidden or built in, the variety of bare and intersecting surfaces becomes apparent. Frameless windows and a large sliding door create focused views towards the field and bring selected parts of the landscape and the sky inside each room of the house. These views give each room a distinct character and add to the overall sense of a gradual transition between house and landscape.
