White house black brickRealized

The project is an interior renovation of a white 1980s house in the Oslo countryside. The whole ground floor of the house is restored as one big room, subdivided into zones by half-open shelf walls made of black brick. The simultaneous zoning and openness allow people to be together and alone at the same time and encourage a free use of spaces regardless of functional programming.

The house has a raised zone with tatami mats for sitting on the floor. Although sitting on the floor is not a European custom, the zone is very popular with the client’s friends and family who explore its versatility in various social situations.

The project also explores darkness as a theme. Architecture may well be “the masterly, correct and magnificent play of masses brought together in light”, however this doesn’t need to imply white cubes in bright daylight. Darkness is an important theme in Scandinavian as well as Japanese architecture.

In darkness masses and spaces are less clear, and this ambiguity can trigger a curiosity and desire for three-dimensional exploration of space through the movement of the body.

In darkness the edges and walls of rooms fade out whereas materials in the immediate surroundings of the body get stronger and the physical presence of architecture is emphasized.

In darkness the eyes find rest, and with views to brighter spaces further away, the mind wanders in the depth of space to simultaneously find peace for reflection and desire for exploration.

Eventually darkness in architecture can strengthen a worldview of ambiguity, doubt and curiosity while softening the tyranny of heroic polarities.