Vacation Cottages, Brekkuskogur Architecture Images, Property Design Development, Architect
Vacation Cottages in Brekkuskogur
Iceland Buildings with Green Roofs design by PK Arkitektar
18 Apr 2016
Vacation Cottages, Iceland
Design: PK Arkitektar
Location: Brekkuskógur, Iceland
Vacation Cottages
In Winter 2012 the studio was invited to take part in a competition for vacation rental cottages. The 20 cabins were to be located in Brekkuskógur, in the Southwest of Iceland.
The area features picturesque surroundings with uninterrupted views from each cottage to the nearby lake, Laugarvatn. The main focus of the design is to created a semirural architecture that blends in with the landscape and the surrounding mountains. Leftover earth from the excavation is used to form a wind-protecting bunker for the outdoor terraces and help fuse the roofscapes of the cabins with the surrounding sloping landscape.
Vegetation from the excavated footprint of each building is preserved throughout the building process and reinstalled on the roofs, when completed. The architectural concept is based on a simple and efficient plan solution, which limits circulation space and minimizes complex detailing.
By doing so, material quality can be increased thus minimizing costly need for maintenance. The building is a wooden construction resting on a concrete base.
The exterior is clad with burnt hardwood paneling, utilizing a method well known in Japan, among other countries, to enhance the durability of the wood. The roof is a grass layer fused together with the surrounding slope, a traditional method used in the old vernacular turf houses in Iceland.
The interior is composed of a floor finish of smoothpolished concrete, with walls and ceilings cladded in wood panels with the same intervals as on the exterior cladding. Living and dining spaces are located in the heart of the houses where the kitchen opens into the main space. The bathroom has direct access to the terrace leading to the geothermal hot tub.
The houses utilize geothermal hydro energy from specially drilled sources inside the site boundary. The overall design is in accordance with recognized ecological standards with the aim to promote minimal environmental impact, creating cabins with close to zero carbon footprints.
Vacation Cottages Brekkuskogur – Building Information
Architects: PK Arkitektar
Location: Brekkuskógur, Iceland
Area: 103.0 sqm
Project Year: 2015
Consultants: Verkhönnun, Landark
Design Team: Pálmar Kristmundsson, Andrew Burges, Fernando de Mendonca, Erna Vestmann, Sunna Dóra Sigurjónsdóttir, Liidia Grinko
Cladding: Burned wood Wooden structure Concrete base Green roof
Photographs: Rafael Pinho, Bjarni Kristinson
Vacation Cottages in Brekkuskogur images / information received 180416
Website: PK Arkitektar
Location: Brekkuskógur, Iceland
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Comments or building suggestions / photos for the Vacation Cottages in Brekkuskogur design by PK Arkitektar page welcome
Website: Iceland