Hamra, a barn-like summer house in Sweden | DinellJohansson
Hamra is a vacation home on the island of Gotland in Sweden. The owners had initially wanted to convert a barn into a summer house. When no suitable barn could be found, architects DinellJohansson instead designed them a barn-like home: a simple rectangular structure which is essentially one big open space inside. Keeping the design simple also kept the project cost within the client’s limited budget.
Gotland has a tradition of building with stone and finishing the walls with plaster. To keep costs down, concrete block was substituted for the stone, but the plaster covering mimics the look of vernacular buildings. The corrugated steel sheet roofing is also commonly seen on farm buildings on the island. The same corrugated steel was used as the ceiling finish.
Within the open space interior are several sleeping quarters, a kitchen space, two dining areas and two sitting areas. That sounds like a lot, considering the floor plan is only 64 m2 (689 ft2). However, the sleeping quarters are pretty small and there are no washroom facilities; those are housed in a separate outbuilding.
The kitchen is literally the heart of the house, consisting of a large concrete island in the center of the room. That turns meal preparation into a very social activity — it is out in the open and multiple cooks can work around the island while conversing face to face.
In two opposite corners of the house are the sleeping areas, plywood boxes with shelves built into one side and a curtained opening on the other. The tops of the two boxes provide playspace for the kids and additional sleeping space for guests.
There is one large glazed opening on each side of the house. Three have French doors while the fourth is a non-opening window. The doors and windows have been uniquely detailed. They were installed on the outside faces of the walls, so the frames are not visible from inside. That makes the openings appear to be simple holes in the wall. It’s a very clean and minimalist look but we’d be worried about people running into the glass. The two roof windows were also made to look like holes in the roof by concealing the frames under the plywood ceiling finish.
Enjoy the photos and have a great weekend!
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Photographs by Elisabeth Toll, courtesy of DinellJohansson. Via ArchDaily.
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What a beautiful house! I would paint the exterior red to make it look more like a barn and I just love the interior. I think that it is delicately designed.
I have to say I like very much how the single open space brings the whole family together. Although, I guess this is only a temporary solution for a family with small children. Teenagers probably wouldn´t be very happy about a sole curtain separating their own private space from their parents and the rest of the house. The interior is wonderfully connected with the outside world, the large glass windows are genius!