Villa Storingavika in Bergen, Norway by Saunders Architecture

The Villa Storingavika family dwelling is located on one of Bergen's most attractive sites, overlooking the southern fjords and the West coast archipelago. The building forms a long thin structure with a cantilevered balcony at one side, extending 6 m and resting on 3 steel poles. The main façade of the house faces south to the ocean while the balcony offers stunning views to the south and west.

The balcony is covered to provide protection from the worst of the Bergen weather, while a band, extruding 60 cm, runs along the main part of the house to give protection from the sun. The upper floor is to be used by the parents and the lower floor by their two children when home from university.

With the two-tier configuration for the site, significant open space on the upper tier is connected by steps leading down to another open area in front of the main façade of the house. In addition to careful positioning of the house on the site, we have incorporated design elements to reclaim as much outside space as possible.

Architect: Saunders Architecture
Principal Architect: Todd Saunders
Project Team: Geneviéve Charbonneau & Joakim Skajaa
Client: Eli Bakke Sem Olsen & Jan Sem Olsen
Photographs: Saunders Architecture + Michael Perlmutter