Hide away
This Scandinavian bolthole gets opened up when its owner’s in and shut tight when he’s not.
MOGENS LARSEN LIVES IN COPENHAGEN, but has long been fascinated by Denmark’s unspoiled North Jutland, with its beguiling windswept lyme grass and vast skies. Back in 1977, he bought a property in the middle of the dunes with the intention of building a holiday home, but life got in the way and time marched on, leaving the land undeveloped for many years. “It wasn’t until my first grandchild came into the world in 2011 that I thought it was time to build something,” he says.
People don’t often appreciate the limitations covenants can place on a property, but in this case, they were fine by Mogens, who was happy with the aesthetic they demanded. “All houses [in the area] must be long and wooden, with earth-coloured woodwork and grass-turf roofing, and there were restrictions with regards to the placement of the house on the property.” It simply meant hiring a skilled architect, so with advice from an old friend who lives in the region, he engaged LBB3.
Since the house isn’t in daily or even weekly use, architects Hanne and Peter Lind-Bonderup wanted Mogens to feel he could “claim” and “fold it out” on arrival, then close it off and “pack it away” when he departs. They devised a home that expresses itself in two ways, like a box that’s opened and closed as desired. When not in use, it can be contained within large sliding doors that shield it from the weather. When it’s inhabited and the shutters are open, light floods the rooms, the building •
“I use the little terrace under the roof early in the day; there’s always shelter and sun at that time. In the afternoon, we move to the one on the north side.”
“Skylights hadn’t crossed my mind, but by [hiring] architects, I was given solutions I wouldn’t have thought of. In the evening, you can see the stars.”
entirely changed. On hot days, the sliding doors also enable Mogens to “turn down” the sunlight.
Several sun-baked outdoor rooms surround the home – concrete terraces that reflect the bunkers still found along the Danish western coast. The concrete was cast on a wooden lathe to allow the veins of the wood to mark it. An advantage of this material is that it traps heat, so the terraces remain nice and warm, a serious plus given the ocean (accessed by a small path) tends to be chilly. “We mainly use the beach for a cold shock and afterwards seek the warmth of one of the terraces,” says Mogens. “I use the little terrace under the roof early in the day; there’s always shelter and sun at that time. In the afternoon, we move to the one on the north side.”
The home’s material palette was largely dictated by Mogens, who didn’t want to spend his holidays painting windows and woodwork, and sought an escape that could be happily left alone. Robust materials were called for: cedar and mahogany timber, and the aforementioned concrete – components that take care of themselves and improve with age, acquiring a beautiful patina as they’re transformed by the weather.
Clad in cedar, the home blends beautifully into its environment. The timber doesn’t need to be painted or sanded and has begun to change from warm brown to silvery grey. On the roof, drought-resistant sedums were •
planted in a twist on the classic grass turf.
“I’m yet to spend any time maintaining the house,” says Mogens, “and I expect not to spend any time on maintenance for many years to come. A holiday house is, in my opinion, meant for relaxation and the enjoyment of nature, not for painting and repairing.”
The home’s windows were arranged to achieve a wide outlook while minimising disturbance from the neighbours. “It’s possible to see many hundreds of metres into the landscape without the view being limited by hedges,” says Mogens. “Only lyme grass and dune roses grow here and you hardly even notice the many surrounding houses, since their earth colours and grass-turf roofs camouflage them.”
Windows were also placed in the roof. “Skylights hadn’t crossed my mind, but by letting creative architects draw up the house, I was given unique solutions that I wouldn’t have thought of myself,” says Mogens. “In the evening, you can see the stars, and I hold very dear the plentiful light that flows into the living room.”
Just as he wanted the exterior to be maintenance free, Mogens sought to keep the interior simple and easy to manage. The result is a relatively unpretentious home, with room for adults and children – the whole extended family. “A lot of the time, we use it in shifts,” says Mogens. “It’s comfortable and easy to be here.”
“A holiday house is, in my opinion, meant for relaxation and the enjoyment of nature, not for painting and repairing.”