Housing Bjørnveien 119, Oslo

Bjørnveien 119 is situated in an area of large one-family and multifamily houses, close to a sports ground and a petrol station.

The project has been conceived as a compact complex with the scale of a small-house development. It consists of four two-storey patio houses, two of 154 sq.m. and two of 130 sq.m., one west-facing house of 161 sq.m. with veranda, and three three-storey, east-facing houses of 136 sq.m. with balconies. Between the two lines of buildings lies a communal courtyard, with parking beneath. The complex is a synthesis of qualities borrowed from the detached house, the row house, and the apartment. The rooms within each unit are versatile and can be adapted to changing needs. All units have three outside spaces: a front garden leading to the main entrance, a back lawn, and a veranda, balcony or patio, depending on the type of house. In several units a two-storey well with glass on three sides extends upwards from the lowest level, allowing the inhabitants to appreciate the various seasons, with their sun, rain, snow, from indoors. One of the main goals was to ensure that light enters the houses from all angles.

The houses are built in in-situ concrete, insulated and faced with narrow black-painted wooden boards, horizontal on the long facades and upright on the short facades. They rely on “green” energy, and 100-sq.m. of solar collector panels are mounted on the south-facing facade. All floors have a water-borne underfloor heating system, supplemented by a gas heater.