Family Residence
Copenhagen Villa
Warmth without sentimentality.
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Year
2023
Area
560 m²
Duration
24 months
Overview
A family villa on the outskirts of Copenhagen designed for a family of five who wanted a house that felt simultaneously monumental and intimate. The dark timber-clad volume sits low in the landscape, its long horizontal form echoing the flat Danish terrain, while inside, a sequence of double-height spaces and intimate alcoves creates a rich spatial variety.
The Challenge
The clients wanted a house that could accommodate both large family gatherings and quiet individual retreat — spaces that could expand and contract with the rhythms of family life. The challenge was to achieve this spatial variety within a disciplined, monolithic exterior form.
Our Approach
The plan is organised around a central "spine" — a double-height gallery that runs the length of the house — from which all rooms open. This spine is the social heart of the house; the rooms that branch from it are deliberately varied in scale, from a double-height living room to low-ceilinged reading alcoves, creating a domestic landscape of compression and release.
Photography
Timeline
Jan – Mar 2021
Brief & Site
Client brief development through a series of family workshops, site analysis, and planning pre-application.
Apr – Jul 2021
Concept Design
Development of the central spine concept and the spatial programme of compression and release.
Aug 2021 – Jan 2022
Design Development
Detailed design of all spaces, timber cladding specification, and landscape integration.
Feb 2022 – Nov 2022
Construction
Construction of the timber frame structure, cladding installation, and interior fit-out.
Jan 2023
Completion
Landscape completion, handover, and publication.
Team
Principal Architect
Elena Vasquez
Elena led the design, developing the central spine concept through an intensive series of workshops with the family clients.
Project Architect
Sofie Andersen
Sofie managed the project from design development through construction, coordinating with Danish timber specialists and landscape architects.
Landscape Architect
Mads Lund
Mads designed the landscape setting, working with native Danish species to create a garden that frames the villa and transitions gradually into the surrounding farmland.
Recognition
- Danish Architecture Centre — Residential Award 2023
- Wallpaper* Design Award — Shortlisted 2023
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