ネクストステップグループの共同設立者であるヨアキム・ガーフェ（Joakim Garfvé）は語っています。
「私たちは何か特別なものを作りたかったので、世界で最も評判の高い建築家に依頼し、サステナビリティと素晴らしい建築が同居する、このエリアの中心的存在である『レイクハウス』をデザインしてもらいました。この建物とエリア全体は、新しい建物と既存の自然、そして持続可能な生活のための革新的なソリューションの相互作用で成り立っています。スノヘッタは、私たちの最初の考えを解釈し、それを実現するために素晴らしい仕事をしてくれました。こうして、より良い建築、生活、人生の楽しみ方を創造していくのです。」

採石場から憧れのツリーハウスへ

1階と2階には、この建物の共通機能のほとんどが集約されています。元々採石場であったことから、これらのスペースは豊かな歴史にインスパイアされ、周囲の環境を反映した岩石を主役としたデザインになっています。最上階の2階は、木のキャノピーをイメージし、螺旋状の木製階段など、子供の頃に夢見たツリーハウスをイメージしています。

スノヘッタは、よりフレキシブルな働き方を実現するために、未来のオフィスに最適な環境をデザインしました。レイクハウスのワーキングスペースは、クロス・ラミネーティッド・ティンバー、グルーラム、自然素材を用いて建設されています。ウェンデルストランドに住む人々に、これからのワークライフにふさわしい、魅力的で環境に優しいローカルなオフィス空間を提供します。

時の流れに耐える

スノヘッタがプロジェクトの一部となったときから、建物の用途を強調するような柔軟なコンセプトと、地域の厳しい気候条件に耐えるサステナブルな素材を使用した高い建築品質の全体デザインを与えることに常に重点を置いてきました。

レイクハウスは、北側の公園から南側に向かう自然の地形に沿うように、外から見ると円形になっています。この建物は、自然によって形作られ、自然のために、新しい庭園都市に適応しているのです。

レイクハウスプロジェクトでは、素材の選択が非常に重要でした。スノヘッタは、高結合エネルギーでCO2排出量の少ない自然素材や地元産の素材をできるだけ優先的に使用することにしました。ファサードや建築の大部分には、木や石などの自然素材が使われ、周囲の環境に合わせたカラースキームが採用されています。また、スノヘッタは、ファサードに適切な割合のガラスを使用することで、建物の高揚感と表情を作り出し、外にいるような感覚と中にいるような感覚を同時に実現しています。

多様な可能性

レイクハウスに入ると、レストランのバルコニーから夜明けの光を楽しんだり、円形劇場のようなアトリウムの階段で、大聖堂のような16mの高さの天井を楽しみながらコンサートを見たりと、様々な選択肢があります。

以下の写真はクリックで拡大します

以下、建築家によるテキストです。

First ground has broken on Snøhetta and Swedish Next Step Group’s Wendelstrand development. A long-awaited project that is set to be finished in 2024 will transform an old quarry to a new, sustainable residential and living area in the outskirts of Gothenburg in Sweden.

Since 2017, Snøhetta has been engaged in the transformation of an old quarry to an environmentally and socially sustainable neighborhood in Mölnlycke, outside Gothenburg in Sweden. The ambition was to make the new buildings in Wendelstrand a leading example for environmentally friendly housing concepts and social sustainability. What started out as a lofty concept of healing a wound in the ground and regenerating the surrounding nature, has now manifested itself as a garden city with varied housing typologies suitable for any family.

Wendelstrand offers diverse public areas and a park that meanders through the development and has its crescendo as the roofscape of Lakehouse – a communal building to be used and enjoyed by everyone living or visiting Wendelstrand.

A model for innovative housing

“Our ambition was to create something that exceeds a conventional neighborhood and breaks with traditional housing typologies. Lakehouse is designed to invite people in, on and around the building. You don’t have enter the building to become a part of it. We hope Lakehouse will be an important catalyst for creating enthusiasm, attractiveness, and cohesion in the area and become an inviting destination for the entire region. Furthermore, we believe that this project can be a model for innovative and sustainable housing development focusing on wood as a building material and in that way bringing down the carbon footprint, not only in Sweden, but throughout the Nordic region, says Rikard Jaucis, senior architect at Snøhetta.”

After several years in planning and redevelopment, Lakehouse has now finally broken ground and is set to be finished in the summer in 2024. This multi-functional building will provide the town’s first new residents with a top-of-the-line restaurant, a café, shops, event spaces, office spaces, a gym and a wellness center – all under one common, green roof. At Lakehouse you can work, sweat, read, eat, drink, dance and sing all in one day.

“We wanted to create something special, so we hired some of the world’s most reputable architects to design the centerpiece of the area known as the Lakehouse, with equal parts sustainability and fantastic architecture. The building, and the whole area in general, is an interplay between new buildings, existing nature and innovative solutions for a sustainable life. In many ways, the Lakehouse represents the whole area and the idea behind the project, and Snøhetta did a great job interpreting our initial thoughts and bringing them to life. This is how we create a better way to build, live and enjoy life, says Joakim Garfvé, co-founder of Next Step Group.”

From a quarry to the tree house of your dreams

The ground floor and the two lower floors house most of the common functions of the building. Being that the area used to be a quarry, the design of these spaces is heavily inspired by the rich history of the site and dominated by rock features reflecting the surroundings. The top two floors illude a tree canopy and are inspired by the tree houses you dream of building as a child – including the spiraling wooden staircase.

With the new and more flexible way of working, Snøhetta has designed the perfect environment for the future office. Having locally available and flexible office spaces you don’t just offer an alternative to working from the kitchen table, you also save both precious time and CO2 emissions spent travelling. The working space in Lakehouse is being constructed out of cross laminated timber, glulam and natural materials. Providing the Wendelstrand residents with an inviting, green and local office space fit for the future working life.

Withstanding the tide of time

Since Snøhetta became a part of the project, the focus has always been on giving the building a flexible concept and an overall design of high architectural quality with the use of sustainable materials that can withstand the rough local climatic conditions in a way that emphasizes the intended use of the building.

From the outside, Lakehouse is shaped in circular segments following the natural topography of the site that naturally rise from the park in the north towards the South. It is a building that is being shaped by and for nature, adapted to its new garden city.

The choice of materials was of high importance for the Lakehouse project. Snøhetta decided upon prioritizing the use as much as possible of natural, local materials with high bound energy and low CO2 emissions. The facades and most of the construction is done with natural materials such as wood and stone with a color scheme adapted to the surroundings. Along with the visible construction, Snøhetta have ensured the right proportion of glass in the facades give the building its uplifting and expression – creating the feeling of being both outside and inside at the same time.

A plethora of possibilities

When entering Lakehouse you have a plethora of options, ranging from enjoying the dawn sunlight from the restaurant balconies, to watching a concert from the amphitheater-like steps of the atrium while enjoying the cathedral-like 16m heigh ceilings.