Framing the scenery

Architect Ólafur Axelsson's stunning house, Kálfaströnd, has been nominated for the prestigious Mies Van der Rohe European Award for Architecture. " A dream location to design a house at," says Axelsson, a partner in VA Architects of the house which is located at the waterfront of  the breathtaking Lake Mývatn in north Iceland. 

Built to replace a derelict farmhouse

Couple Halldór Þorlákur Sigurðsson and Björg Jónasdóttir asked Axelsson to design a house for them at Lake Mývatn after seeing his design of a house at Mount Esja near Reykjavík. "The house at Mount Esja is a sister house to the one at Lake Mývatn and is also located in stunning natural surroundings," Axelsson explains. He adds that it is very rare to be able to build at the waterfront of Icelandic lakes. "Building right on the waterfront is normally prohibited in Iceland unless on a preexisting building site, the new house replaced a derelict farmhouse,which provided a rare opportunity for both the owners and myself."  The house, which is made of concrete and wood, is an all-year residence for the couple who had long dreamed of settling in the area. Axelsson explains that the form of the two-storey building is simple and echoes the adjoining farmhouses. "Framing different aspects of the stunning scenery surrounding the site is a recurring theme in the building." 

Surprised and happy at the nomination

The house is designed with efficient use of energy in mind and all rooms enjoy natural ventilation and services and electrical systems were designed to be energy efficient. The abundance of natural daylight reduces the use of artificial light sources.  The building was completed last summer and the interior design is by Rut Káradóttir. The ground floor contains the living/dining room and kitchen on the right hand side of the entrance hall. The single storey east wing contains a workshop/garage as well as a bathroom and a laundry. A single flight of stairs, enjoying continually changing views, leads to a familiy room, bedrooms and a bathroom on the upper floor.

Axelsson was notified of the nomination for the Mies Van der Rohe award recently and was very surprised. " I was happy and thankful and I wasn't expecting this at all. It's nice when what you are working on gets noticed. An opportunity to be able to design a building in a location like this is a dream for any architect." Last year, the first Icelandic building to win the main prize of the Mies Van der Rohe award was Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre in the heart of Reykjavik, designed by Henning Larsen and Batteríið architects in collaboration with artist Ólafur Elíasson.

See further photographs of the stunning house at Kálfaströnd, Lake Mývatn below.