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Asserbo Home by Christensen & Co

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Very small and very cool. We found this summer home in Asserbo, Denmark through the Slow Home website. Designed by Christensen & Co Architects, it's essentially a glassed-in platform porch with a row of tiny rooms along the timber back wall. Inside, white walls and floors reflect light, and furnishings are minimal...

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The open space is loosely divided into living and dining areas. A closet-sized bedroom peeks out from the corner of the photo.


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At night, the floor-to-ceiling windows make the whole home glow. The subtle pattern of the timber beams creates a sense of height along the back wall and cantilevered roof.


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The large porch creates an additional outdoor room for entertaining. A long table and chairs can accommodate several guests.


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The floorplan shows how the porch, open-plan living room, small bedrooms, bath, and closet are divided. To read the Slow Home's article on the Asserbo House, click here. For more from Christensen & Co Architects, click here.

Photos: Adam Mørk for Christensen & Co

Comments (12)

I think it's beautiful!

posted by Anna Toy on 2008-04-08 14:50:35
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I also think it is beautiful. Site would be important due to lack of privacy but I love it.

posted by Gallivant on 2008-04-08 15:14:22
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It's a total rip-off of Mies' Farnsworth House. If I remember correctly, Ms. Farnsworth could never live there because the constant exposure made her phychologically nervous.

posted by DesignGod on 2008-04-08 15:17:04
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i love that it is sooooo simple.

posted by angxannette on 2008-04-08 15:52:05
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"It's a total rip-off of Mies' Farnsworth House. If I remember correctly, Ms. Farnsworth could never live there because the constant exposure made her phychologically nervous."

You obviously don't know your architecture. This is similar to the the Farnsworth House in that there is alot of glass, but as you can see this has enclosed sleeping rooms along the back, a pitched roof and is of wooden construction, unlike Mies' design which has glass on all 4 sides, a flat roof and is of steel construction with a stone tile floor.

http://www.farnsworthhouse.org/index.htm

You also don't know your history, as the Farnsworth place was intended as a weekend house which she did use for over 21 years. And I'm sure that the significant cost-overruns due to the Korean War and her resulting soured personal relationship with Mies during the ensuing lawsuit had nothing to do with her "nerves"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth_House

posted by bepsf on 2008-04-08 16:20:22
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Bepsf, my point (which you obviously missed in your rush to hurl vitriol while simultaneously patting yourself on the back) is that the glass house is not a novel or innovative concept. The dialogue on transparency is a large and fertile territory with MANY exaples. I will refer you to several texts by the architectural theorist Beatrice Colomina. I trust you can find them without my needing to provide links for you.

I also prefaced my latter comment by "If I remember correctly." I never claimed an infallible memory. And the fact that Farnsworth was a weekend house is a completely moot point. The major issue is that a human being was expected to "dwell" there. In the context of the lack of privacy comments mentioned above my own, the fact that Ms. Farnsworth had privacy issues with the residence is the "bigger picture" here. Thanks for the Wikipedia references, but I am more than capable of forming and positing an opinion without the need to point to a link after every sentence.

posted by DesignGod on 2008-04-08 16:47:44
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DG--

Just because a glass house is not an innovative design concept (I agree with that notion) doesn't mean that it deserves the condemnation of being regarded as a "Farnsworth ripoff" That's like saying that an Audi TT is a "ripoff" of a '78 Subaru hatchback because they both seat four, have four wheels, 4 cylinders and all wheel drive...

And the refernces weren't for you alone - but for folks here who have neither read the musings of Beatriz Colomina, nor know what the Farnsworth House is.

posted by bepsf on 2008-04-08 18:22:26
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It would make it kind of hard to walk around naked.

posted by Erika in Seattle on 2008-04-08 19:17:58
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I love, love, love this house.

posted by abigailm on 2008-04-08 19:26:20
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This a dream house for me. I love alcove bedrooms and simple open space with access to nature. really wonderful design and would be easy to reproduce.

posted by TheoJ on 2008-04-09 01:38:49
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people who post about glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

posted by healthyhome on 2008-04-09 02:35:36
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This house is in the country, and it's in Scandinavia, so wakling around naked wouldn't be a problem.

posted by wannabe minimalist on 2008-04-12 04:03:36
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