Architect Martin Kallesø has designed a small guesthouse, located in the backyard of a home in the Danish town of Præstø.
The architect’s description
The guesthouse is situated in a large holiday home area, which is characterised by many new traditional holiday cottages. These are often constructed in timber, as is also the case with the small guesthouse. The objective with guesthouse is to add some extra space to an existing holiday cottage and thereby acquire additional living space.
The new space differs from the surrounding traditional holiday homes, is more asymmetrical and thus the result of a form-giving process that relates to the characteristics of the site. The element that links the new guesthouse to the surrounding holiday cottages is the use of black painted wood on the facades as well as the use of wooden panels in the interior.
The guesthouse is positioned in the north-western corner of the plot and it consists of an irregular black painted wooden box, which has been shaped based on the proximity of the neighbouring holiday homes and the client´s wish for privacy. Also, a large old ash tree nearby defines the placement. This has resulted in a characteristic large bay, which also functions as a sitting niche or simply a place for relaxing and reading.
The small space is large enough to contain a double bed as well as a built-in wardrobe. The interior floor, ceiling and the walls are all covered with matte veneer sheets in a warm wooden colour.
The roof is slightly tilted to the one side and includes a westward window facing the sky. Due to the angular placement and the neighbouring houses, the facades of the building towards north and west appear completely closed. The building is covered with black painted larch wood while all door and window details are made of black painted wooden frames.
Architecture: Martin Kallesø Arkitekter