Notskriften Housing / Joliark

Curated by Paula Pintos

Architects: Joliark
Area: 5050 m²
Year: 2020
Photographs:Calle Wärnelöv
Manufacturers: Egernsund Tegl
Lead Architect: Per Johanson
Structure Engineer: Structor
Contractor: Byggnadsfirma G Insulander AB

Text description provided by the architects. Notskriften. At the historic industrial area of Munktell and the Eskilstuna river lies the housing block of Notskriften. Originating from its context, an intricate and innovative residential district has taken shape. The Munktell area is characterized by large scale industrial workshop buildings, hardened streets, and brick façades displaying beautiful workmanship. Taking this vernacular as inspiration Notskriften consists of two houses of 3-4 floors incorporating modern requirements and techniques to deliver a fresh and contemporary interpretation of Munktellstaden’s characteristics. The project, in its basic structure, consists of two stacked 4 room duplex apartments where the ground floor dwelling has a small garden plot and the apartment above has a large private roof terrace.

Here you live in a small townhouse in the middle of the city. A more intricate system is created by mirroring the apartments and cut straight through the volume. In this “sword cut” a stair leads you up from the street to the entrance balcony on the courtyard side. From the internal elevator and stairwell, you also reach the entrance balcony as well as the gable apartments, which break away from the basic structure and are oriented with a view towards the water.

The core is cast in concrete with brick-clad exterior walls articulating the façade. Hot-dipped galvanized steel plates are used on the entrance volumes and fenestration. The intrinsic properties of the chosen bricks and the sheet metal have governed the façade concept applied to materiality. Brick is used for elements of the built form connecting the building to the ground, whereas additional elements such as exterior walkways and protruding entrance volumes are lined with galvanized steel. The division of apartments is visualized in the façade through different handling of the brick joints.

Notskriften Housing / Joliark - Interior Photography — © Calle Wärnelöv

Notskriften Housing / Joliark - Interior Photography, Stairs, Handrail — © Calle Wärnelöv

The brick and the joint color are consistent throughout the project, but the variation between flushed and recessed joints creates the subtle shadow effect and vertical division of the built form expressed in the façade. In creating internal accommodation of the highest spatial quality emphasis was placed on maximizing and managing natural light penetration, views, and the hierarchy between private and social areas, demanding the highest standards of design, precision, and craftsmanship in execution. The protruding entrance volumes and the surface-mounted external walkways create increasing privacy between the residents and passers-by. Simultaneously, the ground floor units enjoy great light conditions and a beautiful play of shadows on the courtyard façades.