The island of Ekerö is located about 30 minutes from central Stockholm. It was in this beautiful natural setting that a small cottage was built in the 1960s. After years of successive modernisations, the building was transformed into Villa Asknäs. The design by Reppen Vilson was based on developing the existing structure and maintaining its strong visual connection with the wild surroundings.
The origins of the house and the Reppen Vilson design
The first version of the house was built in the early 1960s as a small single-family dwelling. It was then gradually expanded, which left behind a heterogeneous layout and a less than functional interior. Even before planning the entire investment, the architects conducted an analysis to determine whether further use and modernisation of the building made sense at all. Together with the owners, however, they recognised the potential of the existing house, evident in its scale, location on a slope and interesting adaptation possibilities. The Swedish studio Reppen Vilson is mainly known for projects characterised by a thorough analysis of the context and work on the existing substance. In Asknäs, the architects focused on creating a clear, calm structure for the house, which organises the previous layers. The new elements of the building’s construction do not compete with the original building, but introduce clear visual and functional coherence.
The Asknäs villa and its form
The villa consists of five clearly distinguishable parts. Three smaller ones, dating from earlier stages, are sandwiched between two new, taller structures. The western one houses a two-storey living room opening onto the garden, with more intimate rooms on two levels at the rear. Communication here leads along a gallery suspended above the living area. The kitchen occupies a central place in the old part. From the garden side, the interior consists of a series of connected rooms with large windows. The route begins in the high living room, passes through the older part of the house with more intimate rooms, and ends in the eastern wing, in a study connected to the dining room and opening onto the forest. The architects’ plan is emphasised by details made of stained, knot-free pine used in the frames of openings, passageways and thresholds. The same material appears on the walls and ceilings of the living room, where it introduces warmth contrasted with the concrete floor and double-sided fireplace.
Green Asknäs
All five structures have a façade of green-painted spruce boards. The varying width of the panels subtly differentiates the individual parts of the building, but does not disturb the overall effect. In front of the house, a system of terraces has been designed to subtly connect the interior of the villa with the garden and compensate for the differences in ground levels.
Design: Reppen Vilson
Photos: Johan Dehlin
See also:Single-family house|Minimalism |Villas and residences | Sweden|whiteMAD on Instagram
