This book brings together five vacation homes in Sweden designed by Stockholm-based architect
Mikael Bergquist. Realized over more than two decades they are all located in the Swedish
countryside and rooted in the Nordic tradition of timber construction and the simplicity and
economy of Sweden's historic farm buildings. Bergquist's great attention to detail and careful
choice of materials characterize these houses. They are united also by a close relationship to
the surrounding landscape and nature which is enhanced as an experience by the concepts of
movement and the placement of passages between the outside and inside. The houses are
documented with photographs as well as plans and sections. In his supplementary essay
Bergquist writes about the special position of working as an architect on the periphery of
Europe. He draws a picture of Swedish architecture that is marked by what he calls "fruitful
misunderstandings" of current movements and one in which the poverty of the rural population
has been a major factor in the evolution of the design and construction of dwellings.
