A Rare Tiny-Home Specimen at Sweden
Architect Torsten Ottesjö is making a statement with this home: If you design a space well, it does not have to be large — or angular, for that matter. Employed as a weekend and summer house by a few who reside in an apartment in Gothenburg, Sweden, the home has a working kitchen, an outdoor shower and an outhouse nearby, in addition to an indoor, heated bathroom; Ottesjö also ventilated the house for winter dwelling.
“This home wasn’t designed to be a little house for two individuals; it was developed to be a home for two individuals,” states Ottesjö. Besides claiming that homes do not have to be large, Ottesjö shifts the way we think about houses as boxes to fill with furniture to make them livable. “I wanted to create an ideal interior, a home that is integrated into its landscape and one which isn’t full of right angles and unused space — space that most people simply use for storing boxes,” he states.
in a Glance
Location: West coast of Sweden
Size: 269 square feet
Photography by David Jackson Relan
Torsten Ottesjö
The home is anything but traditional. Its outside walls and roof are biodegradable but designed to withstand Scandinavian winters. Its shape does not allow for snow to remain on the roof for extended. Cosmetic shingles mimic tree bark within their slight expansion upon contact with moisture, creating a tighter surface.
Torsten Ottesjö
The home’s skin appears reptilian, allowing it to blend with its natural surroundings. It “seems like it had been something which emanates from the ground it rests on,” Ottesjö states.
Torsten Ottesjö
The home was built onsite but can be raised and transported by road in 1 piece. Its insulation is a mixture of recycled paper and salt named Eko-Fiber.
Torsten Ottesjö
The main entrance features overhead shelving components; storage crates and boxes double as seats.
Torsten Ottesjö
An L-shaped dining pub has just enough space for a couple of people. Guests frequently assert one of the pub chairs or plant themselves in the ground, in which the concave wall doubles as a backrest.
Torsten Ottesjö
A hallway connects the kitchen along with the sleeping quarters.There is some storage space beneath a couple of floor panels in the hall and in the entrance, in addition to beneath the kitchen table, but the design will not put certain restrictions on collecting too much stuff.
The bedroom has been concealed in a cocoon marked by sliding doors.
Torsten Ottesjö
“The sensation of being within the home is never cramped,” Ottesjö states. “The distance permits us to think beyond the square block-shaped structure and gives a home which does not permit the accumulation of unlimited products.”