Ryvold

Private Residence
Skånevik, Norway

Client: Private
Size:    120 m2 Renovation and 100 m2 Addition 

Completed: June. 2011

Rehabilitation of this small farmhouse from 1940s entailed addition of roughly equal size. The original house was too small, relatively dark and somewhat disconnected from its natural environment. Therefore our challenge was to connect the existing to its setting, to reorganize the domestic setting and finally to orchestrate life inside and out in close relation to the natural setting.

The two main strategies are first to separate private and public zones of the house right at the entry point and second to bring light, air and view in to the house in order to reconnect the house to its environment.

Although the addition formally takes its start point from the old, in its material and detailing it drastically opposes the old. The addition then is tailored by the functions it contains and the relation it seeks with the outdoors.  

New windows permit maximum natural light and focus on magnificent view of the fjord and surrounding mountains.  Entry zone provides a thermal buffer zone between the public and private zones which have drastically different energy loads and pick hours. This saves on energy use while allowing for natural stack ventilation in center of the house.