Instead of building a tiny home, accessory dwelling unit, or so-called mother-in-law suite for his mother Maria, architect Björn Förstberg designed a proper home from the ground up with Mikael Ling, his co-founder at Förstberg Ling, an architecture and design studio based in Malmö, Sweden.
Conceived in 2013 and completed this year, the "House for Mother" combines a minimalist residence and studio in two volumes that are slightly off-set from one another. Clad in corrugated aluminum and set on a concrete platform, the home features a mix of materials including exposed wooden beams and trusses, walls lined with raw plywood, tiling, and polycarbonate siding in the greenhouse.
The contrast between materials and spaces is highlighted through the use of color, with walls either painted white, black, or left unvarnished, and the floors either raw concrete or pale hardwood. High-ceilinged and airy, the home lets in plenty of light through its few but sizable windows, making it an intimate and functional space for Maria, who is a librarian and a weaver. If only we all could build a bespoke house for our loved ones.