Søboden – studio and workshop

Visual artist Malene Bach prefers to work outdoors. The new studio and workshop can be opened up on three sides and brings nature in. Søboden was developed in close collaboration between artist and architect.

The workshop is a 15 x 5 m long simple timber structure with exposed columns, beams, rafters and ridge beams. The structure and space are inspired by the traditional western Norwegian gatework. This type of construction has been used in boathouses, outbuildings and barns, which provide large open spaces with the use of few materials and large openings between the sections. Tight sections in the facade are clad with overlapping timber / vestland panel. The roof to the south is also clad with timber cladding. Between the roof trusses to the north are skylight windows, which bring in good working light and tree tops. The light is filtered through the trees and bushes, through balusters, skylights and a polycarbonate roof. Sliding shutters on three facades can open and close so that the building completely changes character.

Together with the residential house and two small sheds, the building forms a warm courtyard, sheltered from the westerly wind. The existing houses are made of boulders and bricks, and stand clear and monolithic in form. The new studio stands as sharply as the existing ones, seen from the east, west and north, but the veranda on the south facade opens and softens the volume and creates an intermediate zone. The wood warehouse to the east is accessible from the veranda.

The workshop is called Søboden because you open up to the view while working on your object. It is furnished with a simple system for tools and places to stay for different times of the day - outside, inside and in the intermediate space. Efforts have been made to preserve the wooden sculpture to the west and the vine in the courtyard.

To the west, you can open the doors and extend the workshop with an outdoor space under a roof.

Architect Hildegunn Grønningsæter