Sweden
Swedish Architectural Firm Delivers Home To Archipelago Via Helicopter
An archipelago is a group or chain of islands. And while many might first think of the 6,000 Greek islands scattered across the Aegean and Ionian Seas, there are archipelagos all over the world, even in Sweden.
Located just minutes outside of Sweden’s capital city is the Stockholm archipelago. This system of nearly 30 thousand islands and islets is spread out across Öregrund to the north and Landsort to the south. The islands are diverse in their features, but largely are characterized as rugged, yet beautiful. They’re also only reachable by boat or ferry.
In the past, these islands were occupied by farmers and fisherman, but this has changed. According to Visit Sweden, the Stockholm archipelago, the largest in Sweden, now is home to some of the most luxurious and exclusive summer homes in the entire country. Also scattered across the archipelago are hostels and campsites, so one doesn’t need to be a local to experience what the islands have to offer.
While there are thousands of homes there, constructing them isn’t an easy endeavor. With no roads or bridges leading to the islands, and oftentimes no paved roads once on the islands, sometimes the hardest part of building a home is simply getting materials there. Usually ferries are used to transport materials, but this is not always the case.
Recently, the Stockholm-based architectural firm Anders Berensson Architects took a different approach. When tasked with designing a home for the remote archipelago island of Skarprunmarn, which is particularly rocky and has no paved roads, it got creative.
How creative? Well, the team designed and built a prefab home into four pieces, and then delivered it to the island via helicopter.
Once on the island, a modular housing company, Sommarnöjen, began putting it together. And it’s good they got creative in the design and delivery, because the home, now dubbed as the Zartmann House, is stunning.
As described by CURBED, “The main home is split into two rectangular volumes that are arranged side by side. A living room and kitchen take up one rectangle, while two bedrooms and a bathroom account for the other. Sliding glass doors at the end of the house open onto a wooden deck where a raised walkway connects the main living areas to a guest room and sauna.”
If we’ve learned anything from the Zartmann House, it’s that one must be creative when designing and building a home on a Stockholm archipelago island.
