Studio Ellsinger Shapes a Compact Coastal Home on Sweden’s West Coast
Designed by Studio Ellsinger, Hee House is a 7x7 meter vacation home on Sweden's west coast featuring durable materials and ingenious spatial overlaps.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Hee House is located just south of Hamburgsund on Sweden's West Coast.
- The home features a compact 7 by 7 meter footprint and a height of 7 meters.
- Exterior walls and roof are clad in untreated aluminum sinus sheeting for weather resistance.
- The clients are a photographer and a writer with professional design backgrounds.
Studio Ellsinger has unveiled Hee House, a vacation retreat situated on a flat plot surrounded by pine trees, weathered rocks, and meadow grass just south of Hamburgsund on Sweden's West Coast. The architecture is tailored directly to the harsh local maritime climate, utilizing durable materials and careful spatial orientation to shield the interior from driving wind and rain.
Measuring a mere 7 by 7 meters in plan and reaching 7 meters in height, Hee House achieves an unexpectedly generous interior volume. To maintain unobstructed sightlines and prevent structural members from cutting through the main room, the architects transferred roof loads into a horizontal laminated timber frame, completely eliminating the need for bulky cross-bracing or exposed ceiling beams.
The roof and all gable surfaces are wrapped in untreated aluminum sinus sheeting, selected specifically for its resilience against coastal elements and its ability to weather organically over time. A cantilevered canopy extends outward from the primary structure, accentuating the protective profile of the dwelling while clearly marking the main entrance.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Designing compact residences in volatile coastal environments requires precise engineering and material selection. Studio Ellsinger's use of a concealed laminated timber frame combined with durable aluminum cladding exemplifies modern Scandinavian architectural principles—where structural efficiency meets raw material honesty to withstand extreme weather without sacrificing aesthetic openness.
The clients—a photographer and a writer both working professionally in the design sector—collaborated closely with Studio Ellsinger to inject an informed perspective into the project. Their receptiveness to unconventional ideas allowed for a fully bespoke approach, with nearly every component custom-designed for the residence, ranging from window profiles to kitchen cabinetry and fitted furniture.
Inside, the layout centers around a large open volume paired with a lofted platform. Beneath the loft sits a compact cluster comprising a hallway, a bathroom, and a private bedroom. The loft level itself is supported by a expansive bookshelf spanning the entire width of the room, acting simultaneously as structural support, storage, room divider, and fireplace enclosure.
Ultimately, the compact geometry succeeds through a careful overlap of functions rather than a reduction in spatial quality. Structure doubles as furniture, storage serves as a partition, and circulation paths are folded into the central volume, allowing the 49-square-meter footprint to feel vastly larger than its actual dimensions indicate.
Source: designboom
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