Vipp has unveiled the newest addition to its portfolio of one-room Guesthouses, Vipp Cold Hawaii.
Situated on a 9900m² plot of land in Denmark’s Thy National Park, the two-storey guesthouse comprises three double bedrooms, a utility room, two bathrooms and a combined living area and kitchen.
Though the building resembles a classic fisherman’s cottage, closer inspection reveals that architectural studio Hahn Lavsen has designed a modern take on the local architectural vernacular. Embracing a bold minimalism, the architecture uses a limited material palette. “Pursuing a palette of only five materials, processed as little as possible, was a guiding design principle in the transformation,” explain the architects, Caroline Hahn and Ebbe Lavsen.
Walls are built from highly insulating, aerated concrete mono blocks, roughly white-washed on both the inside and outside. To withstand the elements, the roof is lined with untreated Douglas fir in 100% heartwood. As a nod to the location’s history as farmland, classic stable doors in oak are repeated in every room, allowing for natural ventilation. Floors made of exposed brick laid in sand instead of classic mortar pave the way for a refined Brutalism, and are an unexpected reference to the long stretches of sandy beach nearby.
Lavsen adds: “When you step out of the door, you step into a national park. The sensation of being in a no man’s land, almost in a moon-landscape, strikes you. Like the unspoiled rawness of nature that embraces you upon arrival, the house greets you with an unvarnished straightforwardness.”
Interiors, overseen by Julie Cloos Mølsgaard, offer a chic contrast to the building’s facade. “I aimed to make the Vipp guesthouse in Cold Hawaii as tranquil and comfortable as possible, creating somewhere guests would want to stay longer and where they could simply relax surrounded by the untamed nature,” says the designer. Like the architects, Cloos Mølsgaard has used a narrow material scheme where wood, metal, glass, stone and natural woven fibres interweave to create tailored interiors where texture rather than colour creates interest.
Vipp furniture is mixed with pieces from neighbouring craft shops, vintage finds and work by local artists. A well-appointed Vipp V3 kitchen, the company’s newest design, occupies the heart of the living area and unfolds in a large island of six units, accompanied by a backdrop of tall customised cabinets in oak. The kitchen is paired with a seating area, complete with sofas in the same rich textile upholstery as the Vipp swivel chairs in the dining area. A Vipp pouf and sofa cushions meanwhile are made in identical upholstery, a curled wool textile. The same principles are repeated in the bedrooms, where curtains, bedspreads and cushions showcase subtle sand colourways.
