Johan Sundberg Arkitektur designs the Hygrometer homes in Sweden
Swedish practice Johan Sundberg Architecture has completed a cluster of wood-clad residential buildings in Ystad, Swedenwith facades of folding glass screens that allow their balconies turns into sheltered winter gardens.
Called the Hygrometer, the cluster of four blocks offers a mix of 20 mid-budget two- and three-bedroom apartments on a sloping site overlooking the Baltic Sea.
The project marks a change of scale for the Lund-based company Johan Sundberg Architecturewhich is better known for designing luxury villas and holiday homes, often in close collaboration with their owners.
“We are proud and happy about the recognition we receive for our luxury villas. But because we believe that good spaces can change people’s lives for the better, we are expanding our practice to multi-family residential projects,” says founder Johan Sundberg.
“[Our] take on mid-budget, multi-family housing resulted in accessible yet exceptional residences that prove outstanding architecture can be achieved with modest means,” he continued.
The hygrometer is organized into two square blocks to the east of the site and two long, rectilinear blocks in the middle, with the space in between used to create planting and shared patios overlooked by the apartments.
Raised on a stepped concrete plinth, each two-storey block has a dedicated entrance to each apartment, with walled gardens for those on the ground floor and deeply sunken balconies for the first-floor residences.
While the entrance to the ground floor apartments is through their front gardens, the first floor spaces are accessed via galvanized steel stairs at the rear, leading to a small deck access area with additional seating.
“The program is spread across four distinct volumes, with the spaces between them forming human-scale outdoor spaces,” the practice said.
“A varied range of sight lines, patios and views contribute to the spatial qualities of the apartments,” it continued.
Simple layouts organize the living room, dining room and kitchen at the front of the apartments facing the garden or balcony and the bedrooms at the back, minimizing the need for corridors.
One elevation of each block consists of a folding glass screen in front of the balconies or gardens, with the remaining elevations clad in thin, ribbed wood panelling.
“The folding glass walls, so crucial to the appearance of the facades, came as one of the many improvements typical of projects where the architect plays an active role during the construction phase,” said the practice.
“Initially considered an optional element to be installed with the buyer’s wishes, the partitions were unanimously accepted, allowing the recessed balconies to become sheltered conservatories,” it continued.
In Hyrgometern’s minimalist interiors, residents were free to customize kitchen and bathroom furnishings according to a pre-selected color palette of pale and pastel tones.
Other projects recently completed by Johan Sundberg Arkitektur are i.a minimalist log barn on a historic farm in Skåne, and a wooden villa near Swedish pine forest surrounded by terraces to follow the sun.
Photography is off Marcus Linderoth.