“As much of the sea view as possible… As little visual impact in the village as possible… As resistant to the harsh sea shore climate as possible… As open and flexible plan as possible – with privacy for long-term visiting children with grandchildren.”

These were the main requirements form the clients, Mr & Mrs Nilsson.

Svanshall is a small fishing harbour village on the dramatic cliff peninsula of Kullaberg, on the south-western Swedish coast. Directly above the harbour, the lot is tucked in a tree slope among old fishermen’s huts and houses.

In plan, the geometry of the house follows the street at the back (entrance side) and the harbour site the side facing the sea – two lines that were off parallel. However, the interior layout is rectilinear, creating two stepped façades. The house functions are divided by parallel wall planes into three areas: guest rooms, communal areas, and private suite. These parallel wall planes are freely placed to allow spatial flow throughout, while always directing the view to the sea.

The other effect of the stepped façade is that it essentially breaks down the rather long house into three smaller, to adapt to the scale of the surrounding village.

The local sea, the Kattegat, is a bay to the North Sea that at times can be rough. The house needed ‘armour’ and black slate was chosen for the exterior. And when exterior walls lead to the interior, the slate followed inside. The floors had to ground the ‘weight’ and for this the hard grey-green Swedish Kolmården marble was used throughout, including the garage floor. The private suite bathroom cube is of the same marble.

Harbourside, the lot drops several metres and the house is kept from ‘towering’ over the village by a stepped-down wooden terrace.

Villa Svanshall was featured in TV-series Grand Designs (Sweden) S5:E4.