A house with balance

Sometimes architects and craftsmen have to go back in history to move forward and in this exercise, the architectural firm “Det Levende Hus” ('The Living House') has achieved a well-thought-out and simple house principle with excellent residential qualities.

With strong inspiration from Japanese and Scandinavian building culture, this home is based on experiences with daylight, climate and spaciousness. “Det Levende Hus” consists of architect Jens Martin Suzuki-Højrup and structural engineer and carpenter Carsten Erichsen, who have developed a type of wooden house with load-bearing outer walls, delivered in prefabricated modules mounted on a screw foundation.

The house is made from 90% bio-based materials and is plastic-free. This means that the house is breathable and moisture can escape from its structure. The Skovhuset concept also includes a great deal of freedom for the buyer, who can freely decorate the house that has a vaulted ceiling and ridge skylights. 

Homogeneous light

In principle, you live in one big room or at least under one big roof. This places demands on the acoustics, which is an important part of the home's indoor climate. Troldtekt panels without bevels cover the ceiling surfaces and work perfectly as intended. The home owners appreciate subdued acoustics both in everyday life and when the house is full of guests. In this large room, you can clearly sense how daylight is distributed because it comes from several directions.

The ridge skylight naturally contributes to letting light in, but the house’s large overhang on four sides means that the light enters more indirectly. It creates a sense of being outside, which is also part of the Japanese inspiration, as is the veranda/Engawa around the house, which forms an important intermediate zone between the inside and outside.