Rintala Eggertsson Architects

BoxHome

BoxHome
Courtesy of Rintala Eggertsson Architects

BOXHOME

Rintala Eggertsson Architects

PHOTOGRAPHS
Ivan Brodey

YEAR
2007

SPONSORS
Aspelin Ramm, Infill, Ruukki, Pilkington Floatglass, Optimera Industri, Vitra, SM-Lys, Byggmakker, Glava Isolasjon

AREA
19 m²

LOCATION
Oslo, Norway

CLIENT
Galleri ROM, Henrik de Menassian

WORK GROUP
Sami Rintala, Dagur Eggertson, John Roger Holte, Julian Fors

CATEGORY
Houses, Small Scale

Text description provided by architect.

In the North all buildings for living have to be made in an advanced way due to the ever-contrasting weather. Additionally, the houses have to be properly heated with external energy more than half of the year’s course.

Therefore producing smaller homes would bring about a considerable economical and ecological benefit. Today the construction activity stands alone for more than one third of total global energy and material consumption, well exceeding that of all traffic and transport.

BoxHome
© Ivan Brodey
BoxHome
© Ivan Brodey
BoxHome
© Ivan Brodey

This should be a crucial question especially in Scandinavia, where people, in accordance with their growing wealth, possess larger and larger houses. And in most cases, this in addition to a second home called a summer house or a cottage.

Boxhome is a 19 square meter dwelling with four rooms covering the basic living functions: kitchen with dining, bathroom, living room and bedroom.

Firstly, the project focuses in the quality of space, material and natural light, and tries to reduce unnecessary floor area. The result is a dwelling where the price is only 1/4 of the price of any same size apartment in the same area.

BoxHome
© Ivan Brodey
BoxHome
Courtesy of Rintala Eggertsson Architects

Boxhome is a prototype building, yet the same attitude could be taken further to bigger family housing and consequently to work places.

Secondly, it seems that we have given the right to produce our homes to uncontrollable groups of actors who seek mostly maximum income. The basic need to have one’s family protected has become a great business adventure. Making a simple house, after all, is perhaps not such a difficult task that it should be totally left for this kind of forces.

Moreover, meeting the official construction restrictions and laws usually seems to equal to the using of the building industry products and services, thus limiting the possibilities of a real change and development into minimum.

BoxHome
Courtesy of Rintala Eggertsson Architects
BoxHome
© Ivan Brodey
BoxHome
© Ivan Brodey

Thirdly, in Western societies at the moment we are enjoying the highest standard of living ever know to human kind. At the same time we are fully informed of the results of our culture of consumerism. Therein lays the greatest paradox: We are forced to actively forget the real reality to be able to enjoy the facade of excess we have created around us.

Finally, and most importantly, the goal has been to make a peaceful small home, a kind of urban cave, where a person can withdraw to, and whenever wished, forget the intensity of the surrounding city for awhile.

BoxHome
Courtesy of Rintala Eggertsson Architects


BoxHome
Drawins
BoxHome
Drawins
BoxHome
Axonometric


BoxHome
3D Sketch
BoxHome
3D Sketch


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Diagram Info
BoxHome
Diagram Info

Rintala Eggertsson Architects
T +47 22 171922
Rintala Eggertsson Architects
Chr. Krohgs gate 2, 0186 Oslo, Norway