Swedish architects Elding Oscarson have designed a family townhouse in Landskrona, Sweden.
The all-white 125 square meter townhouse has been built on a petite plot measuring a mere 75 square meters, facing a street with a colorful hidden world inside the city block, which is conveniently located by the beach in this growing region.
"The narrow site is sandwiched between very old neighboring buildings. Three thin slabs are projected into the open volume, softly dividing its functions. The continuous interior space is opening up to the street, to an intimate garden, and to the sky."
Architects sought to create an intense presence in this small-scale, contrasting, naturally worn place in the completed project – a feeling of almost being outdoors. The result of this intense presence was the creation of an entirely white townhouse with elegantly audacious geometrical proportions and lucidity with its unique architectural design; juxtaposing the traditional surrounding environment with a distinctively different, yet equally gorgeous, architectural style.
“We wanted to create a sharp contrast; to express inherent clarity, but more importantly to highlight the beauty of the surroundings,” says the firm.
The interior reflects an array of different spatial experiences. It aims at a non-minimalistic and lively sequence of confined and airy spaces, niches, interiors and exteriors, horizontal and vertical views as well as carefully framed views of the site. The continuous interior space is opening up to the street, to the middle of the block, and to the sky above. “This openness to all directions generates a building volume that is both monolithic and transparent. All facades are treated equally, exposing the interior and offering views through the building with similar apertures whether on the front, back or sides.”
Energy consumption was also a factor, the project ended up 57% lower than regulation standards and was reached through the use of an air-source heat pump alone with a ventilation system with heat recovery, wall construction of LECA sandwich blocks with integrated EPS insulation, and a sedum roof delaying temperature fluctuations between day and night.
