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KVARTSHUS

Kvartshuset is a  self-initiated house, completed 2022. Part of the program GRAND DESIGNS SWEDEN on TV4. 

The vision for Kvartshuset was to build a house in harmony with its surrounding nature.

 

Completely built of cross-laminated wood (CLT) and with a design inspired by Kullaberg's rock formations, the house is nestled into a wild, natural plot near Arild in South Sweden.

Through the careful placement in its environment and generously proportioned glass partitions alternating with spruce wood paneling, the interior space is in constant dialogue with the exterior.

For several seasons before construction began, the whole family camped on the wild-grown natural plot in a large teepee. They got a good feel for what kind of house would suit them best in combination with the natural plot.

The shape of the house is inspired by the cliffs and rocks that dominate the surrounding landscape with its dramatic terrain meeting the sea. The lines of the landscape are translated and aligned into a faceted shape.

The inspiration came from crystalline formations in it bedrock that characterizes the Kullaberg district in northwestern Skåne. Just like the quartz crystals among the area's rocks house many right angles, but at the same time wit an organic asymmetry.

The result is a multiangled house form that caused Mark Isitt to associate it with a diamond in the TV- series Grand Designs. The third episode in the program's second series follows and documents the building and design process of Kvartshuset.

After several years of experimenting with models in 3D and cardboard, the puzzle was laid and the 111 precision-cut building elements of cross-glued Swedish spruce created a perfect whole. Despite the irregularity of the multi-sided polygon, the floor plan was both functional, efficient, and comfortable. With its eight meters height, it creates an openness between the planes dramatic height differences.

Throughout the process, the concept for the landscape was that the plot would be allowed to keep its own wild character and that the house would blend into the environment as much as possible.

Considering the idiosyncratic shape of the house, the product is a surprising harmony between building and surroundings.

Instead of blasting the rocks on the site, the foundation was adapted to them, and it now feels as if the house is an extension of the bedrock that pushed up through the Scanian landscape. By thinning out thorny conifers, an airiness was created in the place, where beautiful deciduous trees now let down light through their open branches.

The facade is completely covered untreated wood panel, which over time will take on the same gray shade as the granite rocks next to it. The quartz house is in many ways an experiment that pushes the boundaries of what one can do with a house. It is a fine balance between wild architecture and wild nature, where a bearing idea is to put the inside in direct contact with the outside.

Although Kvartshuset has a design that differs from most, it manages to stick to its original vision all the way from design to constructed reality. With inspiration taken from the surrounding landscape, the house has acquired a character that naturally fits into the location and actively engages with it to make it better.

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Kvartshuset on site, winter 2022. The untreated wood panels are nearly white in the early assembly of the cladding.

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The over 100 cross-laminated wood blocks were assembled within 5 days. A big advantage with using CLT as a construction material, is that it can even be used as floor, ceiling and wall surfaces in the interior, thereby saving a lot of extra building materials.

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The house clearly changed color over the two years: after being exposed to the rain and sun, the untreated wooden cladding develops a grey patina over time.

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Meeting the landscape: the central concept for the house is the relationship and the dialogue between the interior, exterior and the natural landscape of the site.

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The interior is a part of a continual process of adding and subtracting. An important part of the overall design is the reduced material palette of all the parts. Because the house itself is maximizing space and form, the balance is achieved with a minimal furnishing.

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© 2023 by Studio Lebisch

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