Stupet, refugium by a staircase / Petra Gipp Arkitektur

Architects: Petra Gipp Arkitektur
Location: vattern, Sweden
Architect In Charge: Petra Gipp, Maria Videgård, Erika Vegerfors
Area: 116.0 sqm
Year: 2013
Photographs: Åke E:son Lindman

Structural Engineer: Structor Malmö, Peter Bojrup, Mikael Rosengren
Electricity, Security: Jarl Magnusson AB, Åke Lindberg
Plumming: Avlopp och Kretslopp AB, Anna Stridh
Contractor: Wilzéns Byggtjänst AB

From the architect. The promenade begins at the entrance to the house, continues through the volume and leads on down to the water. A column of light, through the roof, allows the light of the sky to flow down the concrete wall that goes straight through the building.  A wall that embraces the stairs and allows for a fireplace at the edge of the cliff.

The cast-in-place concrete stairs create ledges for cultivation and rest on their way down the cliff towards Lake Vättern.

A sculptural volume, where indoor ledges adapt to the levels of the natural surroundings where no distinction between wall and roof is made. A concentrated structure where the inner sequences of space form a clear boundary between inhabitable and untamed nature. The huge panes of glass meeting nature become like thin membranes. 

To engage with nature with humility, to leave nature as untouched as possible is a fundamental decision.