Atlantica - 01.10.2006, Page 24

22 AT L A N T I CA
on the fly
The Nordic region already has a reputation as being a
global leader in design innovation, and the “Adaptable
House” project is a good example why. Funded by the
Nordic Innovation Center, the project functions on the
idea that construction in the future will be “adapted to the
individual needs, lifestyles and life phases, quality of life
and value judgments of people.” Interested parties from
the industry have been meeting regularly this year to cre-
ate a blueprint of the ideal home, taking into consideration
practical matters as well as a tenant’s emotional needs. The
pieces of this home will be pre-fab, but can be combined
in a way that creates many different homes. “The adapt-
able home is not just a place to live,” explains Ivar Moltke,
Architect at the Danish Institute of Technology, “it is also
a state of mind. Buildings develop in a balance between
love and hate. You only fall in love with a house with some
genuine values, some personality and integrity. Good rela-
tions improve with time. From the moment you fall in love
with your house, you wake up every morning and think:
God, I’m lucky that this is my home. And because you love
your home, you spend time and money to improve it.
Whatever flaw will over time be cured and it will end up
being a perfect house.”
Details of the adaptable home will be announced in early
2007. A prototype will be built in Denmark in September of
the same year. adaptablehouse.vtt.fi
THE ADAPTABLE HOUSE – SCANDINAVIA
>
Those masters of self-assembly at Ikea have
been branching out. BoKlok is probably as close
as you can get to a house that comes in a box.
It’s available in most Nordic countries – there are
2,300 apartments in Sweden alone – and in the
UK from this autumn. Ikea’s website says these
wood-framed constructions are “smart homes,
adapted to the day-to-day needs of the mod-
ern family. Open space with spaciously light
interiors and high ceilings are our signature.”
They are geared to lower income families, with
prices described as being cheaper than for tradi-
tional homes. According to BoKlok’s Marketing
Manager, Ewa Magnusson, “the outside remains
as important as the inside.” So apartment build-
ings are always built in a residential area with
other similar structures, for better safety and
opportunities to meet neighbors. And rest
assured, they are actually built by contractors,
so new owners won’t be left out in the cold
figuring out how to put Slide A into Point B.
boklok.com a
THE DO-IT-YOURSELF BY IKEA – EUROPE
>
009 airmail Atlantica 506 .indd 22 28.8.2006 9:22:28