The mathematics of the ideal villa; the architectural potential of Swedish light frame construction
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Författare
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Modellbyggare
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Sammanfattning
This work has examined the light-frame house, focusing on
how a house can be built cost-effectively without compromising
architectural quality. The relevance of exploring how
qualitative houses can be built while remaining cost-effective
comes from the notion that the typical prefabricated Swedish
house is seldom beautiful nor functional, and that a home
is often the largest financial investment a person makes in
their life.
The light-frame construction method has long been the most
common way of building small houses. One of the major advantages
of today’s light-frame construction is its flexibility;
the building system can be adapted to a variety of designs,
and its common use has developed the existing industry furthering
its availability and affordability.
Light-frame construction is derived from North America and
has evolved into a parallel Swedish tradition. The market in
North America, and thus the research on the topic is larger.
In this work, ideas have been taken from there and adapted
to Swedish conditions: the house can be designed based on
the properties of the materials and a conscious thought about
how it will be built.
The method to arrive at this has mainly been to iteratively
sketch various solutions to find architectural efficiency. Additionally,
mathematical analysis of the materials’ properties
has been used to identify principles that have then been applied.
Building references that achieve great architecture with
modest means have been analyzed and used in the project.
The outcome of the project is a flexible, detached single-family
house of 124 square meters on a medium-sized plot on
the outskirts of Gothenburg. The goal of the work has been
achieved by answering the research questions through designing
a house that harmonizes with its surroundings and
is based on rational principles derived from the materials
and rational construction methods available on the market.
The aim of the project has been to create a house that embodies
the Vitruvian principles of firmness, utility, and beauty,
and mine: affordability