Single Family House, Kalfastrond 1

The Kálfaströnd house is located on the waterfront of Lake Mývatn in northern Iceland, in an area famous for itŽs breathtaking nature and rich birdlife. Building right on the waterfront is normally prohibited in Iceland unless on a preexisting building site, the new building replaces a derelict farmhouse, thus providing a rare opportunity for owner and architect alike. While the simplicity of the form of the two storey building echoes the adjoining farmhouses, the spatial layout lays emphasis on making the most of the inherent qualities of the site. Framing different aspects of the exuberant scenery surrounding the site, in varying ways, is a recurring theme in the building.

The groundfloor contains the living/dining room and kitchen on the right hand side of the entrance hall. The single storey east wing contains a workshop/garage as well as a bathroom and a laundry. A single fligt of stairs, enjoying continually changing views, leads to a familiy room, bedrooms and a bathroom on the upper floor. The house is made of in situ concrete and wood (roof structures and windows). For decades in situ concrete has been the dominant and best available material in farm buildings in Iceland. The pitched roof is clad with zink, chosen for itŽs low maintenance in harsh weather conditions. The lower roof is an inverted roof covered by grass reflecting the fact that the house is accessed from a slope, the roof thus being the fifth facade. This, as well the timbercladding, with itŽs vertcal closed jointed panel, also reminishes of older buildings in the nordic tradition. Maintenancefree larch was chosen for the timbercladding.

The house is designed with efficient use of energy in mind. All rooms enjoy natural ventilation and services and electrical systems were designed to be energy efficient. The same goes for choice of material in general. The house is insulated with mineral wool. The abundance of natural daylight reduces the use of artificial light sources. The fact that parts of the stone walls of the old building were used for new garden walls, the existing access road was reconstructed, the old tree garden has been saved from deterioration and that the house was built on a preexisting site meant minimum interference with the existing land. Size : 228 m2 Building plot : 1573 m2