R21 Arkitekter . photos: © Ruben Ratkusic
The project is located on the edge of the town of Ås, along a suburban road with regular traffic. The surroundings are characterized by scattered small single-family homes without a defined organization, along with undeveloped areas and isolated shops on the other side of the road. This suburban layout, lacking urban furniture and organized vegetation, presents a loosely defined structure and low density. The recent regulations aim to improve this situation by promoting a reconfiguration of the environment towards greater density and urban cohesion.
The commission involves the planning and construction of 52 residential units distributed across 4 free-standing buildings, arranged linearly along the main road axis. The typical floor plan is designed as an exercise in rotational symmetry around a displaced vertical core, housing four corner apartments. Strategically, the balconies, conceived as galleries, are positioned at the corners of the volumes, thus mitigating noise from the adjacent road. The goal is to reduce the volumetric scale of the buildings by setting back the gables to the next facade line. This operation results in large terraces that enhance the habitability of the upper levels.
From the beginning of the commission, the challenge was set to construct the buildings entirely in wood, excluding the basement. A CLT (cross-laminated timber) wood-bearing system was chosen, encompassing slabs, partitions, and even vertical cores. On the facades, the exclusive use of spruce wood profiles treated with water-based varnish in various vertical and horizontal formats imparts a warm and organized character to the entire structure. The building’s finish is distinguished by a cantilevered CLT wood structure designed to protect the spruce surfaces from the harsh Nordic climate. Although local regulations prohibit the exposure of wood panels inside the dwellings, they are exposed in common areas, thus communicating the building’s construction essence to the occupants.
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