Farmhouse

"Architecture exists through states of contrast; the building as a bridge between a wooded forest and a field, a strong roof line against a backdrop of trees or mountains. In these states of contrast we truly start to see where we live." -Architect Steve Kredell

On an 18th-century farmstead in rural Sweden, two Copenhagen designers have handcrafted a summerhouse that seamlessly melds the modern and the traditional. The simple, pared-down aesthetic and the open-ended time frame of the project—along with the pair's building and design skills—helped Mads Odgård and Lyng Hansen achieve their renovation on a miniscule budget, with a project outline that ebbed and flowed with Odgård’s professional successes in product design.

The client requested a porch, so Givone built one with columns made of anodized aluminum, the same material used in the siding of the addition, and stainless steel cables. "Even though it's a traditional, covered porch, it has very modern materials," he says.

The second-floor office is housed inside a rounded rectangle of concrete that the architect inserted on top of the old farmhouse.