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Lofthuset i Orbaden

  • Photo: Åke E:son Lindman
  • Photo: Åke E:son Lindman
  • Photo: Åke E:son Lindman
  • Photo: Åke E:son Lindman
  • Photo: Åke E:son Lindman
  • Photo: Åke E:son Lindman
  • Photo: Åke E:son Lindman
  • Photo: Åke E:son Lindman

Jury’s statement

The tower is a place from which to admire the landscape and gaze at the moon. A place to be present and at peace on an abandoned ski slope looking out across the valley of Älvdalen.

Three rooms rise up vertically above each other; a space for nature closest to the ground, accommodation in the middle and a viewing platform at the top. The building makes a sensitive addition to the mountainside, almost without touching the ground. The construction method, using glulam posts and prefabricated spruce trusses, was carefully chosen to deal with the site’s terrain and lack of access. The middle room, the only one with insulation, is reached via a bridge from the slope. The room contains all the necessary facilities for an overnight stay. Internally, the pre-fabricated frame merges with the custom-built interior features. The structural elements define the space and mark out different zones, while the various components form original items of furniture.

The viewing platform at the top is sheltered from the weather, wrapped in an attractively detailed pattern of external beams and capped with a wooden roof. The open design allows panoramic views of the vast river valley through 360 degrees.

 

Façades 1:100

 

Lofthuset i Orbaden
 

Type of building Landscape hotel 


Location Åsberget, Orbaden 


Builders Staffan Michelson

Architect Hanna Michelson 


Building contractors AJ Hälsinge Renovering & Bygg

Structural engineer Rozan Kaivan, Karl Uno Pålstedt

Year built 2017


A word from the architect The construction method was selected due in part to the difficulty of access to the site and the steep ground that required some elements to be prefabricated and others to be built on site. The aim to minimise the building’s footprint, leaving the surrounding landscape as unspoilt as possible, was the main reason behind the choice to build on pillars. Wood plays an important role in the diffusion-open structure of the building. Instead of vapour barrier plaster on the walls, vapour retardant cellulose wadding and plywood boards have been used. In reference to the surrounding landscape and forest, wood is a predominant feature throughout the house. The façade, frame, exterior roof, interior walls, ceilings, doors, floors and furnishings are all entirely made of wood. The types of wood used are all light in colour, with the outer layer of the interior and the birch plywood and ash carpentry partly allowing the frame joists in spruce and pine to emerge and epitomise the structure of the building.