- Project: Library House
- Architect: Fria Folket
- Location: Sweden, Stockholm
- Year: 2022
- Photography: Fria Folket + Hanna Michelson
A Home Shaped by Books and Light
The Library House by Fria Folket + Hanna Michelson is a unique residential project in Stockholm, Sweden, designed for a ceramicist and a lawyer with a passion for books, creativity, and quiet living. At its core, the house is organized around a library in the form of a book gallery, which frames a serene courtyard and creates an intimate center of gravity for daily life.
Four Gabled Volumes Around a Courtyard
The residence consists of four gable-roof buildings, each tailored to a different function:
-
East building: Cooking and gardening
-
South building: Arts and crafts
-
West building: Law, science, and music
-
North building: Rest, meditation, and self-development
These wings are bound together by the library, which works as both the thematic and physical bloodstream of the project. The courtyard becomes an open-air reading space, accessible from all four sides, where architecture and books extend seamlessly into the outdoors.
A Circular Journey with the Sun
The house is designed in alignment with the movement of the sun: starting in the east with social functions, circling through craft and study, and ending in the north with private and contemplative spaces. The degree of privacy follows this loop, moving gradually from communal to intimate. Large windows are oriented to reinforce this clockwise journey, offering outward views when moving forward, while counterclockwise movement faces the closed surfaces of the bookcases.
Material Simplicity, Textural Warmth
While the library brings a vibrant spectrum of color, the interior materials are intentionally restrained. Whitewashed pine, natural pine, and white surfaces form a calm backdrop, enriched by the warmth of a brick-red ceramic tiled floor. The overall palette creates a balance of austerity and warmth, ensuring the focus remains on books and light.
Sustainability and Tradition
Sustainability plays a central role in the project:
-
The design incorporates existing furniture, reducing the need for new acquisitions. The iconic Ikea Billy bookcase helped determine the home’s proportions.
-
Walls and roofs are built without plastic, insulated with flax fibers in keeping with vernacular traditions.
-
Facades are clad in untreated local heart pine, while a concrete-free foundation of recycled foamglass reduces environmental impact.
-
Rainwater from the aluzink roof is collected in an underground tank to irrigate the greenhouse.
-
One studio can be disconnected from the heating system, allowing the family to downsize in colder months.
These choices reflect a commitment to sustainable living while celebrating Nordic building traditions.
Rhythm and Detail
The architecture exhibits a quiet rhythm, with the construction grid expressed in load-bearing glass partitions crafted by local carpentry workshops. Like barlines in music, these posts divide the bookshelves into a sequence of beats, reinforcing the poetic interplay between structure and content.
