The idea with which the house is designed is simple and with a clear articulation: a horizontal plane defines the roof that covers the entire complex and covers the entire project. Below, different spaces are created by means of closed boxes and interstitial spaces, all organized by an overhead lighting axis.
The project achieves that the access floor has an open dialogue with generous views of the landscape while maintaining a domestic scale and privacy for the rest of the house, marked by the clever use of materials also in the interior.
Villa Nes Terrasse by R21 Arkitekter. Photograph by Mariela Apollonio.
Villa Nes Terrasse by R21 Arkitekter. Photograph by Mariela Apollonio.
Villa Nes Terrasse by R21 Arkitekter. Photograph by Mariela Apollonio.
Project description by R21 Arkitekter
The plot has a rising terrain, into which the building is partially placed, so that the entrance area is at the same level as the street, while from the second floor, you have direct access to the garden. A retaining wall marks the lower floor along the entire length of the building to the southeast. With its weight and materiality, the wall completes the landscape and becomes part of it, rather than the body of the building, so that from the other sides it appears as an elongated house on one floor.
The home's concept is simple and clearly articulated – a horizontal roof plan looms over the whole and creates a framework for the rest of the project. Underneath, different spatial demarcations are formed between closed boxes. Retracted glass sections tie the boxes together and define the living spaces while maintaining the connection to the outdoor areas.
An overlit axis runs through the home and connects the rooms. The contrasting experience of open and closed; light and dark, form a rhythm in the building. The boxes that contain bathrooms are extended past the roof tile and allow a portion of the light to enter from above. Through such extensions as well as shifts in the façade life, a number of outdoor spaces of different character are also defined in connection with each living space.
Villa Nes Terrasse by R21 Arkitekter. Photograph by Mariela Apollonio.
The overall height of the roof of 1.8 meters provides room for truss girders and integrated, hidden technical installations in the roof surface, equipped with room for solar panels and solar collectors. The height of the roof structure also allows skylights and varying room heights inside, by varying the height of the roof surfaces in the roof layer.
The use of materials helps to underpin the building's volume structure and articulate the horizontality. The gabion wall that ends the plinth to the southeast has a heavy materiality that approximates the landscape and will be able to be covered with planting over time. Inside, the impression of the closed boxes is reinforced with a darker wooden surface, while the open living spaces are characterized by glass surfaces and simple detailing.
