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Architects: Atelier Oslo
- Area: 600 m²
- Year: 2020
- Photographs: Kristoffer Wittrup
Text description provided by the architects. Situated in a valley at the mouth of the river Vefsn, the town of Mosjøen provides an ice free and safe harbour close to Lofoten. Today the town is dominated by residential areas of detached houses in a strict grid plan. The Bay Window house has four apartments designed for people who want to replace their single-family house with an apartment in favour of a simpler life. It has therefore been an ambition to create a project with apartments that have many of the qualities found in a single-family house.
The massing of the volume breaks down the scale of the building and gives the apartments different qualities and defined private outdoor spaces, partially shielded from each other. Ground floor and second floor are recessed with a smaller footprint that relates to the scale of the neighbouring detached houses.
First floor is larger but broken up into smaller volumes. These volumes form canopies above ground floor, and terraces on second floor. The rooms inside the apartments all have a bay window in full height that is rotated 45 degrees in relation to the direction of the building.
This gives long and uninterrupted views between the houses in the grid plan up toward the hills and the sky. These bay windows also give the building a distinctive look that adds variety and rhythm to the facades. The plot was completely flat and was left with only sand and gravel after the former building was demolished several years ago.
We wanted to create a place that over time will develop natural qualities that will be an enrichment for the new residents as well as for the surroundings. A new topography with varied heights has been established around the building, connecting the building to the ground, and securing privacy for the apartment on the ground floor.
In addition to a variety of low vegetation, several pine trees have been planted around and between the broken volumes of the building. In this way, building and nature will grow into a more integrated whole in the years to come.
