I attended WAN House of the Year award night in London late last week. It went to this house, a summer house on an island in the Stockholm archipelago by Swedish studio Tham & Videgård Arkitekter.
The most striking thing about the house is its simple, dynamic form: a row of zig-zagging, raw concrete gables that stretch across the site like a line of boathouses. Rather than the usual vernacular of a timber dwelling drawing on the forest for its context, the building takes its inspiration from the granite bedrock found on the island. One of the gables forms a glass canopy roofing the terrace, that also splits the building into two separate volumes. This provides a vista through the building to the seafront from the forest beyond and vice versa, as well as acting as the entrance. Three of the gables house the living and dining rooms; pale ash doors doors slide open to reveal the bedrooms behind.
Along with the facade, the terrace and interior floors are made of exposed concrete. The raw concrete has been cast in-situ against plywood boards, giving a subtle grain and wonderfully worn quality to the surface. The interior is simply painted white, window frames and joinery are ash.
House Lagnö by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter, here. Photography: Åke E:son Lindman
What do you think of house of the year? It’s certainly less dramatic than last year’s winner, here
owl's house london. 
loved it! It is a great project, full of detail.
glad you like! i think it’s deceptively simple and very clever. i love that it references its surroundings, but not in an obvious way. the gable forms are delightful, too.
Hi Jane, the last year’s winner would be my preferred option. The above one has got beautiful views but too much concrete, I would say. Being born in a post-communist country, I’m allergic to it:)) Weekend soonx
hey monika, concrete is not for everyone, it’s true. and last year’s was a knock-out! happy thursday to you x
Ooh, I love the simplicity. I aspire to live like this with an abundance of light and varying textures. Sigh!
It is inspiring isn’t it! I love the differing volumes and abundance of light too, but most of all the simplicity. the view isn’t bad either 🙂 J
Such a beautiful home, I like it. I thought the glass angled roof that connects the 2 buildings together yet providing an “outdoor” room is breathtaking. xD
i agree it’s a beautiful, clever and deceptively simple home. love the glass covered bit too x