Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2016!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 2015 was a great year for the office and it looks like it will continue 2016. Anders Berensson Architects has several fantastic ongoing projects, which will be unfolded and built during 2016. Some of next year’s projects are loaded on the trucks above or written in the stars, ready for you to enjoy next year!

World Record Ville Opening

As a co-founder and director of KTH's Full Scale Studio, Anders is proud to invite you to the studio's latest realized project. Welcome to the opening of Full Scale studio's 2015 fall semester project World Record Ville on Monday the 14th of December between 5-7 PM at the Full Scale Factory, Teknologgården, KTH Campus. This year you will be able to visit three amazing allotment cabins designed and built by KTH Students with the intention to break three different world records. The Smartest, Cheapest and Longest lasting house in the world.

Klarastaden

Anders Berensson Architects has designed a new city area in central Stockholm .The firm was commissioned by “Stockholm Centre Party” to make a dense and green city on top of the train track area next to Stockholm Central Station. Stockholm is growing and to accommodate population growth the city needs to build more houses. One of the most sustainable way of doing this is to densify the existing neighborhoods and take advantage of existing infrastructure. The train track area in the West part of Stockholm City is one of Stockholm's most central locations with a high attraction value. Given the cost of covering the existing train tracks and the area's central location, the new proposal aims to build a tight and high city area in order to make room for as many people as possible in central Stockholm.

In order to build denser the firm has designed a new type of city block for Stockholm. The proposed city blocks exist out of thin towers which can be varied in height to accommodate more people but also adapt to light conditions and views. The proposal is apartment buildings scaled down to its smallest component, one stairwell surrounded by apartments to get the smallest footprint possible. With these smaller volumes, the design can be more flexible and adapt to parameters such as views, sight lines and light conditions and still get more living space. The design also makes larger parts of the area accessible to the public since both courtyards and roof terraces is crossed by public paths. The sky walk on the roof terraces will be one of the longest parks in Stockholm with best view in town. The proposal also makes the waterfront accessible for people in Stockholm. To control views and light conditions for the new houses zoning regulations for building heights is a major part of the proposal. Every other row of houses is low, max 4 floors with a courtyard and every other row of houses is high 7 to 30 floors. About 90% of all apartments will receive a lake view and the sun will shine through the lower parts of the blocks to reach down to street level during the afternoon. The new city area will host about approximately 5800 apartments, 8000 work places and about 300 shops. 

The new city area will be the highest and densest in Stockholm. Because of the areas location the firm believes it is a suitable area for higher buildings given that in the present situation there is very few apartments next to the area that will be negatively affected from shading or blocked views. When the new area meets a residential district the building heights are lower. The highest part of the area is towards Stockholm Central Station where there are good communications and where many people want to live.  

Explanatory diagram showing the advantages of a new typology of blocks compared to the typical block structure used in Stockholm.

Swedish Text:

Stockholm växer och för att tillmötesgå befolkningstillväxten måste det byggas fler bostäder. Det mest hållbara sättet att göra detta på är att förtäta redan befintliga stadsdelar och dra nytta av redan existerande infrastruktur. Spårområdet i Västra City är ett av Stockholms mest centrala lägen med ett högt attraktionsvärde. Med tanke på kostnaden för överdäckningen och områdets centrala läge precis intill Stockholm Centralstation bör det nya området byggas så tätt och högt som möjligt för att kunna göra plats för så många personer som möjligt centralt i Stockholm. De tidigare förslagen för området följer Stockholms kvarterstruktur och kopplar på ett självklart sätt an till befintliga gator och leder dessa vidare ner till vattnet. Denna grundstruktur finns det ingen anledning att förändra. De föreslagna åtta våningsbyggnaderna i kvartersform har dock betydande brister i densitet, variation, ljus, sjöutsikt och tillgänglighet.Kvarterens långa horisontala utsträckning blir stora och slutna för allmänheten och dess höjd skuggar gatorna förutom under sommarmånaderna. Denna struktur går inte heller att göra högre då den redan är brutal i sin skala, även om den har formen av något igenkännbart i Stockholm. Skulle dessa hus bli högre skulle all sol försvinna i området.

En ny form av kvartersstad.

För att kunna bygga tätare behövs en annan typologi av hus. Därför föreslår vi en mindre och flexiblare typologi som kan varieras i höjd för att rymma fler människor men också anpassa sig till ljusförhållanden och utsikt. Vårt förslag går ut på att flerbostadshusen skalas ned till sin minsta beståndsdel -ett trapphus med lägenheter och hiss för att få en så liten horisontell utbredning som möjligt, det vill säga en variation på punkthuset men anpassat till en urban struktur. Med denna volym kan stadsbilden bli betydligt mer flexibel och anpassas till parametrar som utsikt, siktlinjer och ljusförhållanden och ändå få in mer bostadsyta samt tillgängligöra betydligt större delar av området för allmänheten då innergårdarna genomkorsas av publika stråk. Förutom att öppna upp innergårdarna föreslår vi också att alla hus bör förses med takterrasser som är gemensamma för de boende i huset alternativt är semioffentliga platser med restauranger och annan publik verksamhet. För att reglera utsikt och ljus skapas zoneringsregler i höjdled. Varannan husrad blir låg, 4 våningar med en park emellan sig och varannan husrad blir hög från 7 till 30 våningar. Ca 90 % av alla lägenheter får då sjöutsikt och solen kommer att silas genom de lägre delarna ner på gatunivå. Samtidigt kommer den byggda ytan i området öka. Generellt sett är Klarastaden en lämplig plats för inslag av högre bebyggelse med tanke på att det i dagsläget ligger få bostäder i direkt anslutning som kommer att påverkas sol- och utsiktsmässigt. Men där så finns, exempelvis i Atlasområdet, vill vi ha en omfattande boendedialog för att integrera ny bebyggelse på ett sätt som berikar existerande områden. Vi vill även dela upp varje kvarter på olika byggherrar för att öka variationen i området. Då öppnas möjligheter för en mer varierad stadsbild och fler typer av boendeformer.

Look Out Lodge

Anders Berensson Architects has designed a small extension to a summer house in the Stockholm archipelago. The project has a limited budget and we promised the client to design the cheapest and easiest extension possible with one reservation, that the firm would designed and build the windows instead of buying standard ones. The two new windows fixes what’s missing in the existing house, a work space, a quiet and bright place to read and a sky tower with a window on top to look at the stars at night. The house also features some advanced gingerbread carpentry at the sky tower. The ground breaking of the house has just started and the house should be finished next summer.

Plan with the existing house and the extension to the left

Section 

Facade drawing 

Detail of gingerbread carpentry

Full Scale Factory

Anders Berensson and Ebba Hallin has designed a factory for Full Scale Studios autumn term project World record ville at KTH Royal Institute of Technology Campus in Stockholm. The plant is designed to handle several parameters of both structural and pedagogical challenges. The purpose of the building is to be a factory for the production of three allotment cottages. The factory will provide rain and wind protection, but also create a clear limit to the construction area since the factory is located in one of the most central locations at KTH  “Teknologgården”. The factory will also make room for workbenches and storage of materials to keep things rolling while building World record ville. The factory will be at the campus from October to mid-December .

The factory covered  in late November

Structure

The plant is designed to cost as little as possible. The house has been constructed of ordinary construction timber and OSB sheets assembled to trusses. The roof framework is covered with a transparent tarpaulin. The form of the trusses is designed by several parameters. The length of each board should not be longer than standard measurements. The house's total perimeter in section should not be longer than 12 meters to suit the most affordable tarpaulin. The OSB sheets is cut to have as little waste as possible. 100% of each sheet is used to make the structure rigid.

Since the idea of the house is to be as large as possible with as little material as possible, the house becomes too light to stand by its own weight on the ground in windy conditions. We where also not allowed to harm the surface of the square. The storage of the house is therefore added to the building's corners to weigh down the house. If a storm comes, rain water barrels can be added to provide additional weight. Workbenches are placed on top of the storage space.

Pedagogy

Since the house is built by students, the building process of the factory is a crash course in common Swedish construction methods. Every moment in erecting the building is designed as a lesson in construction and how to use common hand tools. A critical part of the design was to keep 25 students occupied at the same time and make sure that each group of students had to go through all building methods and techniques to succeed with their assignment, techniques that are crucial to know for their forth coming projects.

Every cut is designed for various cutting tools such as circle saws, jig saws and hand saws. The house is also assembled with several different assembly methods such as nailing, screwing, half in half cuts and knots.

Putting together a symmetrical roof truss on the ground without anything in level and with no straight corners to relate to also requires several measurement methods and construction mathematics such as Pythagorean Theorem and diagonal measuring to succeed.

Culture

Since the studio largely consist of exchange students from all over the world, Swedish cakes and sweets where used as templates for curved jig saw cuts to share some Swedish cultures with our guests.

Swallow Suites

 ABA has designed a couple of luxury suites for swallows in collaboration with Butong. The project is a mini building constructed and colored to be fitted under a typical Swedish eave. The suites are made out of Butong colored to blend into whatever building the structure is mounted on. The structure is shaped as a 90 degree angel on the back side to be easily attached to a cabin eave. The front is spherical to form the perfect nest for birds. Swallows are one of few birds that prefers concrete before wood and the 30 mm diameter of the Butong bubbles are the exact dimension preferred by swallows as entrance holes to their houses. Just like most birds swallows prefer houses with some patina. Therefore the swallow suits are mounted now in the autumn so that winter can wear them down enough to get new resident this spring.

Section, the structure makes an extra protecting layer of concrete and a frame to easily fill with clay.

Swallow Suite close up picture

Swallow Suite picture

Swallow Suite picture from distance, the structure almost disappear. 

Swallow Suite sketch 

Painting at the Hermitage museum in Santa Barbara

On a business trip last week to Santa Barbara and Salt Lake City I took the chance to meet with one of my favorite persons on the US- West-Coast, Ted Gardener. While going through his book house project on The Hermitage Santa Barbara 20 I discovered that a postcard I painted and sent to Ted is now part of the Hermitage art Collection. I’m of course uttermost proud that my simple painting is now part of one of my favorite places in the US! 

I realize that this type of news is hard to understand without some explanation. Both my postcards and the Hermitage have until now been two personal projects that neither me nor Ted have had any interest in sharing. But since Ted has turned one of my postcards into art by displaying it as art in his art museum " The Book House" and since the Hermitage no longer is a secret and is actually open for public (two times a month if you book a tour) I might as well promote his fantastic place with my little painting in it.

The Postcards

Front

Back

The postcards don’t need that much explanation. I travel a lot to beautiful places, meet beautiful people and sometimes their beautiful work. When I stumble upon great work I want to store it in my brain. I learn by doing, so by painting a place I simply remember it better. When I'm finished painting it I don't really have any use for the painting. 

I also want to thank the people that walk the extra mile to make the world a more fun and beautiful place so I usually send the painting to them with some kind words on the back explaining my love to them and their work.

Last year me and some friends stumbled upon the Hermitage in Santa Barbara and got a tour of the amazing place. So I painted it from my favorite angle and posted it to Ted with some kind words on the back when I returned to Sweden. Since my postcards are personal letters to people I admire I have not seen any reason to show them in public, but since this particular postcard got upgraded from postcard to "art" and is out on display I now proudly show it on my website. 

The Hermitage Santa Barbara At 20

The Hermitage is a bit harder to explain and I'm not sure that I make it justice when I try to describe it. Just like most beautiful places it is almost impossible to explain and should perhaps not be so since it never was the intention in the first place. The Santa Barbara Hermitage should be enjoyed and the best way is of course to just visit the place and see for yourself.  

The Hermitage consists of three houses and when I say house I mean a place with an inner space that you can enter and use. From the outside the houses could be mistaken for sculptures and it seems like most of them started that way, became too big, got an inside and became a house. At least that's how the Book House happened according to Ted. The three houses is "The Book House" witch is a pile of huge books that contains an art museum, the second house looks like a happy space shuttle and it is Teds studio space and the third one goes in the same style but looks more like a house and it is Teds home. The estate is filled with different pieces of art/objects. The great thing about all these objects from my perspective is the un-pretentiousness of them. Ted doesn't seem to box things like a usual person. If it’s an art object, an architectural object, a fake, a copy, a shitty object, a great object, a poem, a rhyme, a cactus, a plant, or a joke doesn't seem to matter and it seems to be no hierarchy between them. He just makes or buy what hi likes and just put it in his garden and houses. Ted told me that he started this collection by copying a sculpture that he could not afford to buy. And when I talk to him it seem like hi has no ambitions of being an artist. My feeling is that he just filled his life with physical things that he wanted. He just get ideas that he has to follow through and he has been doing that for the last decades and the Hermitage is the outcome of that. I believe that there was never the intention to build a museum in the first place, it just grew to be become one. When it started to look like a museum he turned his home slowly into one. When someone just do what he wants to do for his own personal joy for decades all small things adds up to something great and personal, quantity becomes quality, While walking on his estate and seeing the massive amount of work you slowly learn Teds personal language and start to enjoy to be in Teds world and it is a more fun and colorful world with great ambitions compared to many other ones.

200 meter fens made by spray painted used bikes

Teds Space shuttle studio

Wisdom words in the garden

Sculpture

Bumper Bear 

Inside the art museum with my small postcard

Wisdom words

Bay Window Bench

A-B-A has designed and built a very small and affordable project for an apartment with a bay window in Stockholm. The task was to make the best possible use of a bay window that is the only window in the apartment that get a decent amount of sun plus a view along the street. The solution became a bench that is formed after the bay window when opened and closed. During the winter it creates a light seating area in the apartment. In the summer when the windows are opened it creates a small balcony space where one can sunbath and have breakfast in the morning.

The construction is made out of one single 16 mm MDF-Board that is glued together to thicker pieces when needed and plugged together with wooden dowels. The total coast of material including the foam cushion and fabrics is slightly over a 100 euros, A really good price for a furniture and a summer season balcony!

The Bay Window Bench In Winter & Summer mode

Breakfast at the Bench

View from the bench 

The hidden balcony from outside

Detail picture of MDF-boards interlocking 

The bench at New Year's Day.

Drawing of cuts and fabrication