Title: Scandinavian Modern Houses 4: The spirit of Nordic light.
Author/s: Vibe Udsen
Photographer/s: Per Nagel
Editor: Vibe Udsen
Art director: Vibe Udsen
ISBN: 978-87-987597-8-2
Size: 232mm by 306mm, 215p.
Publisher: Living Architecture Publishing
Publisher www: www.livingarch.com
Scandinavian Modern Houses 4: The spirit of Nordic light is a stunningly beautiful book. Author Vibe Udsen has collated a gorgeous collection of some of Scandinavia’s best houses in this, the fourth instalment of the series, and there is certainly no sign of slipping standards.
The book is laid out very simply; there is a contents page, and then there are the houses. Each house has a short introduction to the architect, the commissioning process and the history of the project, which is followed by a series of pictures that showcase the house’s features. Each example has a healthy portion of the book devoted to it, with only one having less than fourteen pages of images.
One of the most pleasing things about Scandinavian Modern Houses 4 is the presence of wood in each house. Scandinavia has a long tradition of wood construction due to its thermal properties, availability and malleability in such a cold and often mountainous climate. Wood is a common structural material in most of the houses and is also used aesthetically to add warmth and colour to otherwise cold and bland concrete construction. The book does not examine sustainability to a large degree, and so one of the arguably major benefits of wood construction is unmentioned, which is a pity and one of the book's few shortcomings. The one major exception is Villa Bakaflöt (108) in Iceland, which uses geo-thermal energy to warm the house without recourse to electricity or gas.
The first thing a reader will notice about Scandinavian Modern Houses 4 is the focus on large, high-quality photos that dominate almost every page. The book uses quite thick stock with a high gloss, contributing to the photos looking absolutely stunning - and a luxurious page-feel. The quality of the printing is matched by the photography skill of Per Nagel, with the images strongly conveying the character of each house, encapsulating each of the details that make these houses individually spectacular. Captions provide further information but are secondary to the images themselves; the pictures speak first.
The quality of the images is the compelling reason why Scandinavian Modern Houses 4 is such an inviting read — it is difficult to look at just one page without leafing through a dozen — but high-quality photos deserve high-quality subjects, and Scandinavian Modern Houses 4 delivers on this front as well. The subjects come from all over the Scandinavian world, from the president of Finland’s private house (162) to a Danish seaside retreat in the midst of desolate dunes (32).
All of the houses are breathtakingly exquisite. Some of the most alluring are Villa Inkeri (63), an attractive Finnish house/guest house uses log walls to evoke ancient wood joinery traditions and is enfolded in greenery. Villa Lange (91), a compact house designed by one of Denmark’s finest architects presents the most exquisite sensibility in its balance of practicality and elegance. Villa Krona (182), perches solitarily on an island in the Archipelago Sea of Finland, a simple retreat of warmth and comfort in the midst of the cold Baltic Sea. These three houses are but the tip of the iceberg, with every example selected for the book being as beautiful as the rest.
Scandinavian Modern Houses 4 is very focused in its intentions. There are not many details on the design process or construction techniques, there are few diagrams of the joinery or material compositions and it lacks extensive explanations of why the houses were as they are. Instead, the book presents the houses as objects of admiration — certainly as spaces in which to live, but also as functional works of art. These homes have an enormously strong design sensibility, and their presentation in Scandinavian Modern Houses 4 highlights their beauty rather than their functionality.
This volume is highly recommended for those who love the aesthetics of architecture; there is little technical knowledge needed to enjoy Scandinavian Modern Houses 4. The emphasis on presentation throughout the book and the high quality of the imagery has created a decadent-feeling read that provides an excellent insight into some of Scandinavia's finest residential architecture. This is more of a book on art than an analysis of architecture, but it is worth seeing architecture as art and Scandinavian Modern Houses 4 does this extraordinarily well.