With the Wadden Sea coastline in the front, landscapes of heather and pine in the back and the Port of Esbjerg in the horizon lies House on Fanø. It follows a local time-honored tradition for solid longhouses as the island’s notoriously harsh wind has called for buildings based on robustness and simplicity.

Traditionally, barn and habitation were placed under one continuous roof, due to Fanø’s rough weather. The houses were built by sailors and farmers in robust, local materials, and they were oriented from east to west to protect from the west wind. Today, you still see the characteristic longhouses all over the island. House on Fanø interprets basic elements from the traditional longhouse and rewrites it within a contemporary construction practice focusing on the local identity, a simple structure and materials characterized by sensory qualities.

From the outside the building is characterized by the steeply pitched pantile roof and the terracotta red render of the façade. A deep overhang creates a space which provides shelter on both sides of the house. The façade is perforated by windows and sliding doors made from large format oak glazing profiles. The roof, the façade and the openings appear as independent elements which together form a unity. The sandy soil excavated during construction is placed as dunes around the house and creates an intimate domain which relates to the surrounding landscape.

The principal elements of the interior also appear independent from each other. As a general rule, the building components are exposed emphasizing their rich texture and earth tones. The characteristic clay blocks which make up the internal partition walls are unplastered, exposing their ornamental relief. The exterior masonry walls are coated with a layer of reddish render. The tone mimics that of the dyed concrete floor, while its structure is coarser. The floor forms a unifying element that boundlessly connects the adjacent spaces, while its slightly reflective surface brings in the daylight.

The roof is constructed as a cassette construction of cross-braced spruce beams and appears as a continuous frieze that lifts the roof construction from the masonry base. At the same time, it forms a parapet on the three interposed floors and two cast-in-place concrete stairs which stabilize the structure.

Three volumes make up the overall spatial layout: a central two-room living space with adjoining rooms at each end. Bathrooms, bedrooms, and utility rooms are placed within each of the primary volumes. During summer, the living space can be opened, turning it into a conservatory: an uninsulated space placed within the floor plan, providing shelter from the strong prevailing winds but in touch with the surrounding landscape. The interposed floors offer a secluded retreat, a small office, and a guest bedroom. They are placed on the same level, and are not separated by walls, therefore creating a generous view stretching from one gable window to the other. The lighting is hung or mounted directly on the walls, just as the building services which are visibly exposed.

The structural clarity and simple composition spotlight the inherent qualities of the building components; the varying hue of clay blocks, the natural patterns of plywood, and the coarse structure of terracotta tone render. Each element bears its own logic, materiality and function, and the montage is rational. It backs the ambition of creating a simple architecture that exposes the principal elements and letting them be sensed through modest but textural materials. When components are separated and their embedded rationality is utilized, excess layers can be peeled away. This contributes to a building that remains stable over time and supports a resilient construction practice. Thus, House on Fanø incorporates itself within a local tradition and reinterprets it in a contemporary, sustainable manner based on the embedded potentials of the materials.