The mathematics of the ideal villa; the architectural potential of Swedish light frame construction

Abstract

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