Wooden barn-like blocks splay out in various directions to form this Swedish villa by Stockholm studio Murman Arkitekter, framing views of a lake and surrounding woodland (+ slideshow).
Named Villa Sunnanö, the residence is located around three hours northwest of Stockholm, on a headland overgrown with pine trees and blueberry bushes, and surrounded by huge, partially submerged boulders.
Studio founder Hans Murman wanted to maximise views of the picturesque waterside setting.
To achieve this, he devised every room as an individual volume, each with its own glazed gable and patio, that branches out from the centre of the plot towards the lake and trees.
The building's timber cladding and roof are treated with iron sulphate, designed to help the wood grey as it ages, to blend in with its setting.
"We wanted to take advantage of the site's unique conditions and make a dwelling with maximum contact with the surrounding nature and water but with respect to privacy," Murman told Dezeen.
"To reduce the scale and to allow clear definition of the functions of the building, the wings end with patio spaces that allow you to take advantage of the light and views in different directions," he added.
"Wherever you are in the house, you have access to framed views."
The house-shaped wings are arranged around a gabled "spine" containing bedrooms on its upper floors and acting as a circulation space at ground level.
This central block is bracketed by a pair of patios – one at the southern end that forms the entrance, and another to the north aligning with a footbridge to the lake.
Each of the spaces has been carefully oriented to take advantage of the rising and setting sun.
The kitchen, dining room, gym and guest bedroom are housed in the four wings nearest the entrance, while the two closest to the water's edge contain living space.
An existing log cabin in the house's grounds has been repurposed as a garage and storage space.
Murman founded his studio in 1985. It now employs a team of 30. Past projects include a pine-clad sauna on the Stockholm archipelago and a small island cabin disguised behind a vinyl facade printed with evergreen foliage.
Photography is by Åke E:som Lindman.
