Approached by the client, a family in Bergen, ClaessonKoivisto Rune was commissioned to make the interior architecture of their home. The house was already designed by Canadian architect Todd Saunders and into its planning phase.
Mutual respect between the two architectural offices made the project more like a collaboration than separate commissions, although responsibility for the exterior remained with Saunders Architecture, and the interior with ClaessonKoivisto Rune Architects.
The house is on a steep plot on one of the mountainsides above the city centre. The entrance is from the top floor with kitchen, dining and living. The floor beneath contains the bedrooms. (A lowest, third, floor is reached via its own entrance and functions as a separate apartment.)
The central element of a big black block, in pigmented oak, housing the staircase was inserted in to the open interior space. Besides its obvious function as vertical communication between the two main floors, this free-standing volume defines the room functions of the communal entrance floor. On one side of the block is the kitchen and dining space. On the other side is the living room. Yet, the entire floor is spatially one whole room.The staircase ‘block’ almost reaches the ceiling with concealed lighting emphasizing the ‘gap’. Above the block, and along all four sides, sightlines are unhindered.
The staircase ‘block’ was proposed and designed, including the particular handrail detail, by ClaessonKoivisto Rune. Although quite drastically changing the (interior) architecture it was readily welcomed by Saunders. A testament to the smooth collaboration between the two architectural firms.
In the living room, a custom made bookcase in solid Douglas Pineadds a second space-defining volume, balancing the blackened wood staircase block.The rest of the interior space surrounding the central ‘black block’ was designed to be flexible and continuous, with Dinesen solid oak plank floors running throughout. A selection of contemporaryfurniture pieces designed by ClaessonKoivisto Rune, together with other new and classic Scandinavian designs populate the space in free-standing arrangements.
Material Used :
Living room
1. Tiles, carpet, Kasthall, design: ClaessonKoivisto Rune
2. Hollywood, sofa, Arflex, design: ClaessonKoivisto Rune
3. The Spanish Chair, easy chair, Fredericia, design: BørgeMogensen
4. Spin, ottoman, Tacchini, design: ClaessonKoivisto Rune
5. April, coffee tables, Nikari, design: Alfredo Häberli
6. Ulm Stool, wb form, design: Max Bill
7. Enoki, side table, E15, design: Philipp Mainzer
8. w084 Studioilse, floor lamp, Wästberg: design: Ilse Crawford
9. w131 Bell, pendant lamps, Wästberg, design: ClaessonKoivisto Rune
10. Bookcase, custom made
11. Jøtul F 305 B, ironstove, Jøtul, design: Andersen &Voll
Kitchen and dining
1. Slim, table, Arco, design: Bertjan Pot
2. Wishbone Chair, Carl Hansen &Søn, design: Hans J. Wegner
3. Lloop, pendant lamps, Vij5, design: Ontwerpduo
Bedroom
1. Avalon, bed, Living Divani, design: ClaessonKoivisto Rune
2. Io, wall lamps, Fontana Arte, design: ClaessonKoivisto Rune
Bathroom
1. Orchard, cement tiles, Marrakech Design, design: ClaessonKoivisto Rune
2. Stockholm, washbasins, Globo, design: ClaessonKoivisto Rune
3. Vola taps, design: Arne Jacobsen
4. Face Alu, cabinet knobs, Smaller Objects, design: ClaessonKoivisto Rune
Terrace
1. Yard, table, Emu, design: Stefan Diez
2. Yard, chairs, Emu, design: Stefan Diez
3. Wall, wall lamps, Fagerhult, design: ClaessonKoivisto Rune
4. Castle, planters, Friends & Founders, design: Ida Linea Hildebrand
