Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads

Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Exterior PhotographyHoliday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Exterior PhotographyHoliday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Interior Photography, Table, Chair, BeamHoliday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Exterior PhotographyHoliday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - More Images+ 18

  • Architects: Krads
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  170
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2020
  • Photographs
    Photographs:Marino Thorlacius
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  Bizazza, Culina, Kvadrat, Purnatur, Russwood, Velfac
  • Lead Architects: Kristján Eggertsson, Kristján Örn Kjartansson
  • Engineering; Structural And Hvac: Emil Þór Guðmundsson
  • Entrepreneur: Smíðandi ehf / Gestur Þráinsson
  • 3d Modelling: Guðni Valberg
  • Interior Carpentry: Helgi Hrafn Jónsson, Jón Árni Þórisson & Christian Danielsen
  • City: Selfoss
  • Country: Iceland
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Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Exterior Photography
© Marino Thorlacius

Text description provided by the architects. The holiday home is carefully placed on a densely overgrown hill that is sloping north in the direction of the great Lake Þingvallavatn in southwestern Iceland. On multiple levels, the otherworldly landscape has modeled the form of the building. 

Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Exterior Photography
© Marino Thorlacius
Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Exterior Photography
© Marino Thorlacius

In dialogue with the terrain, the concrete foundation of the wooden house lies in three staggered planes that follow the movement of the landscape. In a similar manner, the roof surface, overgrown with local grass and moss, slopes partly towards and partly with the hill.

Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Exterior Photography
© Marino Thorlacius
Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Image 18 of 23
Roof Plan
Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Exterior Photography
© Marino Thorlacius

The location of the house has been chosen with great care to integrate the building into the surroundings while framing specially selected views of the landscape. Towards North, the house rises above the low scrub to give an unobstructed view over Þingvallavatn and the mountain Skjaldbreið from the main room of the house. In the opposite direction, the main room opens onto a south-west-facing terrace that is closely surrounded by trees. From here, the mountains Jórutindur and Hátindur can be seen at the same time as a view is established from the terrace, through the house, and out towards the lake. 

Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Interior Photography, Table, Chair, Beam
© Marino Thorlacius
Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Image 21 of 23
Section
Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Interior Photography, Chair
© Marino Thorlacius

Apart from the terrace, the immediate surroundings of the building are so densely vegetated that they are close to impenetrable. Preserving the landscape as pristine as possible was a major intention in both the design process and during the construction of the house. In return, the greened roof is established as an accessible plane.

Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Interior Photography, Living Room
© Marino Thorlacius
Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Interior Photography, Table
© Marino Thorlacius

Access to the roof can be gained from inside, from the house's sleep- and play loft, or from the outside where the slope starts at the foot of the integrated boat shed. Following the ascend, standing at the top of the roof's edge above the trees, the landscape opens up in a magnificent and ever-changing panorama towards the lake and the surrounding mountains. 

Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads - Exterior Photography
© Marino Thorlacius

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Cite: "Holiday Home in Þingvallavatn / Krads" 19 Mar 2021. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/958835/holiday-home-in-thingvallavatn-krads> ISSN 0719-8884

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