Norway's single-family home market inspires architects to constantly exercise creativity and refine engineering precision in proposing original solutions. We talk to Maksymilian Sawicki of the Polish-Norwegian design studio OFFICE INAINN about the race against standardization, the pursuit of a circular economy, differences with the Polish market and the stunning spectacle of mother nature.
Ania Diduch: Let's start, please, with the author's construction strategies that I read about on your website. What type of activities are these?
Maksymilian Sawicki: These are a set of design tools and guidelines that we follow when creating each home. These strategies include an analysis of specific customer requirements, local and cultural conditions, and take into account environmental aspects to create customized solutions. We have developed our own methodology in this regard. Currently, this is not a standardized process in Norway.
As for the latest conditions related to the circular economy, a number of initiatives have emerged, such as FutureBuild and the Circular Resource Center. However, it is worth noting that the market for single-family homes is rather resistant to novelty and innovation. Norway is no different from Poland in this respect - here, too, cost is the most important factor. The tradition of building single-family houses leads to the standardization of solutions, perpetuated by the habits of consumers who expect a certain price. This applies mainly to people around the age of thirty-five, who decide on their first house.
HG_33 house - discreetly emerges from the landscape with full respect for the vegetation found on the plot
Courtesy of OFFICE INAINN studio (photo: Studio Istad)
Ania Diduch: So these fantastic photos of houses "emerging" from the landscape, which advertise Norway, are a kind of efficient PR?
Maksymilian Sawicki: Architecture in the landscape is a reality, but most construction is mainly catalog houses. Using heavy machinery, plots of land are leveled, and virtually anything can be built on them. Companies that offer such houses have been on the market for years and are able to quickly and accurately costume a given construction, which is very much to the liking of the banks here.
For us, this means a lot of talking and explaining why preserving the existing natural environment might be better. It turns out that preserving the existing site is very expensive today. Catalog houses often don't meet the assumptions that Norway likes to boast about. We - as a studio - try to create buildings that integrate with the environment on many levels. We are very close to the thinking of Norwegian Pritzker Prize winner Sverre Fehn, who pioneered the integration of contemporary architectural forms into the Norwegian landscape. For him, every project began and ended with the landscape. We try to act in the spirit of his postulates, starting every single-family home project with an understanding of the place where it is to be built. In Poland, a site visit to a plot of land has the character of a search for the identity of the project more in the conceptual dimension. In Norway, the landscape is very diverse, which makes us work a bit like in a geological laboratory. We practically don't do projects on flat terrain.
HG_33 house - the architects acted according to the traditional modernist philosophy of blurring the boundaries between inside and outside; they achieved this through spectacular windows and the use of minimalist, natural materials in the interior
Courtesy of OFFICE INAINN studio (photo: Studio Istad)
Ania Diduch: That's the kind of atmosphere you have!
Maksymilian Sawicki: Yes, and this climate really carries a lot of different perspectives. The basic one is that in Norway the landscape is really experienced and confronted. The first site inspection of a plot of land can be an unpredictable adventure, when you have to wade through forest, rocky ground or fight insects that make it difficult to make good photographic documentation. The next step is to analyze nature: what vegetation is on the plot, what species of trees, how nature adapts to demanding climatic conditions and what we can apply to our project. Often the plot turns out to be a spectacle in itself, with its own drama that inspires and suggests solutions.
Our studio is located on the west coast of Norway, where weather changes are rapid and one day can surprise all four seasons. Hence the need to choose the right materials, such as top-quality steel. I'm referring to basic components such as hardware and railings. It often happens that someone forgets to stow a bicycle overnight and a week later the bike is completely rusted.
HG_33 house - the architects acted on the traditional modernist philosophy of blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior; they achieved this through spectacular windows and the use of minimalist, natural materials in the interior
Courtesy of OFFICE INAINN studio (photo: Studio Istad)
Ania Diduch: What are the most common and safest materials, and do they fit into the circular economy guidelines, or rather not?
Maksymilian Sawicki: I would like to refer to the words of Maciej Miłobędzki, who in the last issue of Self-Portrait, citing Kiela Moe, wrote that we are now building with products, not materials. The situation is similar in Norway. A house wall is usually a conglomerate of many layers. Timber frame structures dominate, but in addition to the frame, more than a dozen different layers of materials are often used. Of course, some issues cannot be easily jumped over, for example, the protection of the house from the harmful effects of radon. This is a very important issue that directly affects the health of residents. It is not legal to build without insulation in the form of foil, which limits the penetration of this element from the interior of the earth into the building. However, Norwegian construction is increasingly integrating with the principles of a closed-loop economy, paying attention to sustainable materials and technologies. Wood - as a renewable raw material - is widely used, and its combination with other green materials allows the creation of healthy and safe living spaces that follow circular economy guidelines. Increasingly, developers are tapping the expertise of architects, who act as consultants in addition to typical design. An example is the Oslotre studio, which primarily promotes the rational and pro-environmental use of wood in residential construction.
Construction of a house on the rocky slope of a fjord - projects on such a demanding terrain are not only a test of technological abilities, but also an impulse to unconventional creativity
Courtesy of OFFICE INAINN studio (photo: Studio Istad)
Ania Diduch: Let's talk about Norwegian families. Is there a leading model of habitation?
Maksymilian Sawicki: The single-family home is dominant due to low population levels, small towns and easy access to green spaces, which promotes close contact with nature, which is an important part of the Norwegian lifestyle. About 60 percent of Norway's population lives in single-family homes.
My wife and I, who is also an architect, have a two-year-old child attending a Norwegian kindergarten. The emphasis there on contact with nature is incomparable to the Polish context. The kindergarten has access to a forest, the sea and a club with animals. Children are encouraged to bring home, examine and play with shells, crustaceans and other elements of the local flora. This may explain why the Norwegians' relationship with nature is so close and direct.
Visualization of the HN house - a classic functional layout with the living space on a higher floor to maximize access to daylight
Courtesy of OFFICE INAINN studio (photo: Studio Istad)
Ania Diduch: How are these relationships reflected in the organization of the house itself?
Maksymilian Sawicki: The first major difference in Norwegian homes is the location of the living area on a higher floor. It usually includes the kitchen, dining room, living room and relaxation room, which is often a separate room from the TV room. These spaces are designed to provide what is known as long-view comfort, which in Norway significantly increases the value of the property. Another important aspect is daylight, which is scarce, so architecture has to fight for every ray of sunlight. On the west coast the situation is not so dramatic, but inland, in more mountainous areas, light is at a premium.
On the lower level are the bedrooms, and the entrance to the house is often integrated with the laundry room, where wet or soiled clothes can be left. Also important is the pantry, which serves as a "refrigerator room" stocked with products with a long shelf life. Due to communication difficulties caused by storms or avalanches, a Norwegian home is always prepared for an extended period of isolation. According to the technical conditions here, each house must be equipped with an alternative heat source, usually a wood-burning fireplace.
The interior of the house contrasts with the austere exterior - it is warm and cozy, with lots of wooden elements. Interestingly, shoes are not worn in a Norwegian home, even at more formal gatherings, which are attended in suits - they are held in socks. This reminds me of the "rituals" that Jun "ichirō Tanizaki described in his book "Praise of the Shadow."
A mock-up of an HN house - a classic functional layout with the living space on a higher floor to maximize access to daylight
Courtesy of OFFICE INAINN studio (photo: Studio Istad)
Ania Diduch: Finally, let's discuss some realizations from Ålesund.
Maksymilian Sawicki: An important project for us is the HG_33 house, located on the rocky coast. A small natural hill covered with lush vegetation and trees protects the plot from the wind, providing privacy and direct contact with nature. The surrounding landscape became the main factor shaping the architectural form. The house consists of four modules of varying heights, forming a horizontal cascade arrangement, which is an elaboration of the natural landscape formations.
Internal communication was designed based on view axes framing fragments of the landscape from the immediate vicinity. The upper floor offers a completely different distant view of the water and mountains, changing the visual and acoustic experience experienced by the residents. As a result, the house integrates harmoniously with its surroundings, offering a variety of experiences that connect the inside with the outside.
The second project I want to mention is located in Nesvegen. The plot is located on a western peninsula overlooking the largest fjord in this part of the country. One of the key challenges was to design a single-family home on a site with complex geometry and to precisely capture the view our clients wanted. The irregularity of the terrain was not only a challenge, but also an inspiration for a unique design.
We created a block that stands out for its irregular form. It was crucial to base part of the house on a rock, which allowed us to harmoniously fit the building into the natural surroundings and minimize interference with the terrain. As a result, the house not only harmonizes with the landscape, but also benefits from its natural qualities, creating a coherent and harmonious whole.
Ania Diduch: Thank you for the interview.
The model of the HN house - the monochromatic body effectively shows thinking "in harmony" with the shape of the surroundings; the house looks like a natural extension of the forms in the landscape
Courtesy of OFFICE INAINN studio (photo: Studio Istad)
