Bjørk House

The plot lies on a south-facing slope above the river, in a thin wood of mountain birch.

We walked it with the Haugen family in every season before drawing a line. The birches decided the footprint: the house threads between the largest trunks, and only four trees were felled. The lower floor steps into the slope, so the garden opens at ground level on both floors.

One steep gable turns to the valley with a single large window. The rest of the house stays quiet.

The frame is glulam spruce on a concrete base cast into the hillside. We clad it in untreated larch, chosen for its warmth now and the silver it will turn later. Upstairs, the children’s rooms share an attic landing under the ridge that opens onto a small deck between the birches.