Villa Butter

What first catches the visitor’s eye when arriving at the heavy structure Villa Butter is the spectacular view. The project sits right on the edge of a 20 meter cliff overlooking the ocean. But more vital to how the project was designed and planned was actually the beautiful grove the house sits in. The sun playing through the greenery, the scent of elderflower, the pines perfect in their imperfection and the ground and tree trunks covered in ivy… like an enchanted forest. In Villa Butter the lines between outside and inside are blurred, making the interior of the house a tamed part of the lushness outside. And that to the character of the house, soul if you may, is way more defining than the breathtaking view.

The materials used are oak, concrete, glass and copper. A lot of work was put into finding the perfect cement render and application technique to achieve the right texture for the facade. The project is designed with a very obvious rhythm. At the same time the plan of the house is sprung from the program and not the opposite, leading to the structures of the project being not rectangular but extended and formed after the functions they hold.

In more ways than one Villa Butter is about connectedness. On the site stood old ruins from former structures, for example an old stone wall. Yesterday is over, it’s a different day. Villa Butters’ elegant and modern shape talks to tomorrow, but the old walls have been kept as a way to connect also to yesterday. The project is a massive, heavy structure with a very serious character but it also has surprising, playful elements such as varnished, deep blue elements breaking up the perfection. 

Villa Butter is a grand project but with a humble persona.

Photographer: Erik Lefvander

Building permit: Skälsö Arkitekter

Construction Drawings and Execution: Ateljé Ö