Måns Tham, architect and founder of Måns Tham Arkitektkontor, describes his latest residential design in a memorable way. “It’s as if a flying Tetris block landed on steep granite rocks,” he says.

Eight gray shipping containers form the home, which perches on a rocky, forested site outside Stockholm. Windows at one facade look out through treetops toward a quiet lake, but with the uneven terrain, capturing the view wasn’t easy.

“The site was an unsold lot where many had tried to build but none had succeeded,” Tham says. “There was a general ban on dynamite, and the lot’s grade has an almost sixty-foot difference. There is no place for a slab, just a steep canyon where a lot of rainwater flows toward the lake.”

When Tham was introduced to the setting by his clients, he immediately saw why they were interested in a challenge. “Thomas and Linda are both into customized American cars, and they felt that old containers were in line with their do-it-yourself interests,” Tham says. “They have three kids, and Linda’s dad was a former mechanic and welder. His knowledge proved to be invaluable to our success.”

The couple chose shipping containers as the main structural element, citing sustainability, more flexibility in creating a foundation, and the ability to build more quickly. As it turned out, things took a little longer than anticipated.

“It was a relatively cheap build, but this process was not quick and simple,” says Tham. While the original plan was to build in six months, it ended up taking three years. “I think that naivete was essential,” he says. “Otherwise, I doubt my clients would have undertaken such a complex project.”

Besides the landscape being unforgiving, shipping containers can similarly pose complexities. For starters, their width is predefined, and anytime you remove walls to join containers to make a larger room, they lose structural integrity. “We had to put a lot of effort into deciding which walls to cut and which to save to keep from adding structural elements,” Tham says.

“We ended up having a great iterative process where we designed solutions as we went.”
—Måns Tham, architect

With efficiency top of mind, Tham devised a plan in which three containers sit on the ground floor, where an entry leads to a den, a guest room, a utility room, a laundry room, and a bathroom. Stacked above, four containers include a kitchen that’s open to the living and dining area, a terrace with a catwalk that connects to the forest, a bathroom, a primary bedroom, and three smaller bedrooms. Finally, one more container sits on top, acting as a lookout over the surrounds.

“We cut each container off-site and then assembled the lot using a crane,” Tham says. “We also had to clean the rock and make foundations for the first floor. Getting the containers to the site went very fast, but making a house out of them took years, especially since the clients have day jobs and could only contribute on holidays and weekends.”

Thomas, who works in demolition, would at times source odd objects from jobs to add to the home, like the stair that leads to the lookout. Whenever he brought something in, Tham would add it to the mix. “We ended up having a great iterative process where we designed solutions as we went,” he says. “But the original proposal was never changed.”

The family moved into the home in 2019, although the catwalk was completed just this past fall. After the long, winding process, Tham and his clients have a feeling that, over time, the home will continue to change and shift, a little like a Tetris block. “That’s just the way this house is,” says Tham.

More from Måns Tham:

This Swedish A-Frame With a Flourish Excels in All Seasons

Project Details:

Architect of Record: Måns Tham Arkitektkontor / @mans_tham

Structural Engineer: Egil Bartos, Ramboll Sverige