Our friends from Visiondivision shared their latest summer house in Singö, Sweden with us. The architects were limited to designing the small summer house within the confines of an existing shed because the site is exposed every tens years to the overflows of the Baltic Sea. Constructed as a lizard’s tail, the house utilizes a pragmatic strategy where if one part of the building gets exposed to water, that part can easily be replaced without affecting the rest of the building.
More about the summer house after the break.
The new structure, although inside the old shed, requires its own independent structure. The architects built as close as possible to the old structure, giving the floor plan a long niche along one of the walls for a battery of functions, such as a small kitchenette, a storage space and an expandable bunk bed.
Bearing in mind the affect the water would have on the materials, the architects opted for spruce boards and spruce pillars, which can be taken away when exposed to water in order to dry. Later, the pieces can simply be put back or replaced with new boards. All electric parts of the house are placed in the higher regions of the house so as not to be affected by an extreme overflow.
The house is also equipped with a warning system to alert the client if the water levels begin reaching the construction underneath the floor. The warning system became a rising totem pole where the face changes its mood depending on how high the water level has reached underneath the house.
“ The only change to the existing façade is the big window and a wooden terrace with a outhouse on it towards the see and a new entrance door, hardly exposing the building’s new function which gives a pleasant surprise for visitors,” explained the architects.
Architects: Visiondivision
Location: Singö, Sweden
Project Team: Anders Berensson & Ulf Mejergren
Construction year: 2010
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