PK Arkitektar ehf.

Árborg House

Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho

ÁRBORG HOUSE

PK Arkitektar

ARCHITECTS
PK Arkitektar

LOCATION
Árborg, Iceland

CATEGORY
Houses

PROJECT YEAR
2010

AREA
256.0 sqm

CONSULTANTS
Conis Verkfræðiráðgjöf, Verkhönnun

PHOTOGRAPHS
Rafael Pinho

Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho

Text description provided by the architects.

This vacation house is located on the banks of the Hvita river, a two-hour drive East of Reykjavik.

Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho
Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho

The site is a moss-covered hill with a view over a quiet bend in the glacier-formed river.

In the spring, the river carries the icebergs from the glacier towards the sea some 100km away.

The approach to the vacation house is from the top of the hill. The building is organized as a sequence of events.

Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho
Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho

From the entrance porch through the closed courtyard into the living space and out onto the terrace at the end.

Living, dining, kitchen, and master bedroom are all arranged in one continuous room.

Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho
Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho

This enables panoramic views of the river and the distant mountains to the west.

The exterior is a broken surface of light grey fair-faced concrete.


The gravel from the riverbed is blended into the concrete, and is revealed in the broken surface.

Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho
Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho
Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho

It harmonizes the outside walls with the moss of the surrounding landscape.

Leftover moss from the footprint of the house covers the roof.

It was kept aside and regularly nursed during the building process, before being reinstalled on the roof.

Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho
Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho

Doors and terraces are clad with teak boards that will gradually weather to a color grade to match the seasonal moss and the broken concrete surface.

Fair-faced concrete walls through out the entire interior are matched with untreated teak boards on floors and ceilings.

Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho
Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho
Árborg House
© Rafael Pinho


Árborg House
Floor Plan
Árborg House
Sections

PK Arkitektar ehf.
T +354 551 8050
PK Arkitektar ehf.
Brautarholt 4 105 Reykjavík Iceland