F003
House for mother
Linköping, Sweden
2013-2016
"House for mother" is the first built house by Förstberg Ling. Starting in 2013 as a project for the 2017 housing exhibition in Linköping, the house was completed in early 2016. As the title suggest, the house is conceived as a dwelling and studio for Björn's mother Maria, librarian and weaving enthusiast.
"House for mother" balances spatiality with intimate rooms - formal simplicity with strong materiality. The raw corrugated aluminium facade creates a variable play with light and shade during the day, a rich materiality contrasting with its simple expression.
The fuzzy reflections in the unpainted metal make the house change color throughout the day, changing expression depending on the weather, from blue to grey to white or even pink, when the sun is setting.
The wooden beams and trusses along with the walls lined with plywood give warmth to the interior while the concrete floor is a durable surface for everyday use, elevated to a low bench along the perimeter of the building.
The house is made up of two parallel volumes of the same width, but of different height and inclination of the gabled roof. The first volume contains the kitchen, dining room and living room, with the bathroom and laundry room housed in a smaller cabin within the structure. The second volume, partly in two levels, provides the bedrooms and a small studio.
The sharp division between the living room painted white, and the dining room in natural pine plywood, creates a distinction between the spaces without any walls. The grey stained inner cabin creates a contrast to the otherwise light interior.
The division of the house into two volumes, slightly shifted from each other, emphasizes the narrowness of the plot while creating natural outdoor spaces in the front and back of the house.
While first standing in the open, the urban context has slowly grown around the house and now little more than the gables are exposed to the neighborhood.
"House for Mother" was shortlisted for the Private House Award in 2016 by Architects Sweden and won the Plåtpriset Award in 2017.
Suppliers: Vola, Nordic Tech, Byggfabriken, Duravit, Welin & co, Fönsterspecialisten i Lönsboda, AF Snickeri
Photos by Markus Linderoth