Moomoo Architects, a Polish architecture studio have designed and developed the Reykjavik House in the middle of an Icelandic plane just outside of Reykjavik.
Even though this minimalist home stands out from its surroundings thanks to its shining white exterior with two glazed walls, the environment was taken into great consideration for the design. Its entire design is respective of the ambiance and simplicity of the landscape that surrounds it. In fact, if you look from a distance, the house appears as if it blends in with the snowy landscape, almost as if it came out of it. That is something that you can best see in the pictures below.
The project of the house should fit within the border lines of the local master plan which was established for the chosen plot. Consequently the exterior building dimensions including terraces and roofing are 15,5m x 17m which is the maximum area that can be achieved in the plot. The house answers to the needs of future inhabitants, both in the visual and space organizational ways.
The form is minimalist, plain white, with wide glazing. The house respects surrounding landscape – sides directed to the stunning views that are fully glazed and other 2 walls are almost fully covered, which allows the inhabitants to hide from neighbors and have privacy.
The main idea of the project is terrace wall which was pulled from the house and blended in a way that it looks like it came out from the landscape.
The glazing on both sides of the house is sliding, so during the warmer season they can be folded, so the terrace makes the continuation of the area of the house. This manipulation of the shape of the house blurs the border between the house and the surrounding area.While the exterior is plain white, the interior has an accent of birch wood. The plan divides the house into 4 main zones – garage area, master bedroom area, children area and living area.