Some images of the final concept for the renovation and expansion of a small cabin in the north of Norway. I quite like how this one turned out. The interior is opened up completely and expanded with a new addition on the west side, with a large new corner window that looks directly out to the fjord. The existing veranda on the south side is expanded across the new addition to create a larger outdoor terrace. On the north side is a second addition with an improved entrance area and a bedroom with its own corner window where one can lie in bed and watch the landscape. We are going to try to lay a new grass roof over the entire cottage, although it will look just as good if it has to be a tile roof in the end. This project represents perfectly what I often try to do when designing expansions where part of the existing structure has to be retained in its entirety. The new additions respect the forms and materials of the existing cabin, while subtle details and modern patterns create new q

Recently I have been working on the renovation/reconstruction of a small cabin in Ringerike kommune a few hours north of Oslo. The existing cabin lies on a rather unusual site, squeezed in on a narrow stretch of land between the highway E16 to the east and the lake Sperillen to the west. It was originally built in the 1960s. It does not have integrated running water, and consists of one large room and a partially covered balcony which lies on top of a high foundation pedestal. A tiny sleeping area has been partitioned off to the east. Small houses like this are a delight to work with. The project brief is to reorganize the space within the cabin to create at least two new bedrooms and a bathroom in addition to the living area. Because of the cabin’s location, it comes into conflict with a lot of invisible rules that must be followed in Norway: buildings must be placed at least 4 metres from the property line, and no new construction is allowed within 100 metres of the shoreline. Here w

Regjeringen har satt som mål å bygge 130 000 nye boliger innen 2030. I kontrast til fortidens behov må mange av disse boligene bli mindre på størrelse og særlig egnet for en økende del husholdninger som består av én person. I en nylig artikkel «Boligkrisen kan løses i byggefeltet» i tidsskriftet Arkitektur (Nr. 3-2025), argumenterer Camilla Moneta for at mesteparten av disse nye boligene kunne bli etablert i eksisterende boligområder gjennom renoveringer, utvidelser og transformasjoner av eksisterende eneboliger. Hun har helt rett: eneboligen er en undervurdert typologi som byr på spesielle muligheter for fleksible nye boformer når man tillater seg å utfordre sedvanen om at et frittliggende hus i en hage må inneholde bare én bolig til én familie. I tillegg til transformering av eksisterende eneboliger, har jeg lyst til å rette oppmerksomhet mot rommene mellom husene. Mikrohuset er en typologi som kan bli en høyaktuell del av boligsatsingen i tida som kommer. Det er 1,3 millioner enebol

Various recent drawings from my digital sketchbook. When making concept illustrations, I tend to work in quite clear stages: after having done some rough thumbnail studies, I choose the idea that I like and draw out the entire scene with lines and contours. I then do some simple value studies to experiment with the lighting. Light is an excellent storytelling tool. It can say a lot about what is happening in the depicted world: is it peaceful or mystical? Melancholy or uplifting? Lastly I paint over the entire scene with colours. Sometimes I erase the original lines, but recently I have been experimenting with painting on a layer under them to retain a little bit more of the "hand-drawn"-impression. The effect is quite unique. ***

Happy new year to all! Here are some selected drawings from my sketchbooks from the last few months of 2025. I look forward to a new year of continuing to explore the world both real and imagined with lines.

Concept sketches of some iterations on one of my favourite housing types: the atrium house. In my opinion it is self-evident that a garden space should be considered just as necessary of a room in a house as a kitchen or bathroom. In this typology, the garden becomes structurally integrated with the house itself. Partially protected by the house and partially demarcated by a surrounding wall, the garden becomes a sheltered outdoor room with a high degree of privacy while remaining open to the landscape. Atrium houses can be arranged in clusters adapted to the terrain, such that a shared access road with common gardens can be established on the other side. Each dwelling lies therefore in between a public space on one side and a private garden on the other, in a settlement structure that can become quite dense. I wish we had more opportunities to create this type of «low and dense» construction today. ***