Dezeen Magazine

Villa Korup on Fyn

Villa Korup is a weathering steel-clad home on the Danish island of Fyn

Jan Henrik Jansen Arkitekter, in collaboration with Marshall Blecher and Einrum Arkitekter, has created a family home made entirely from cross-laminated timber that has been clad in weathering steel.

Built for a family of six who lost their previous home in a fire, Villa Korup was designed as three connected volumes that each opens up to a different part of the surrounding landscape.

Weathering steel panels
The house has three distinct but interconnected volumes. Photos by Marshall Blecher

The home's main living spaces are clustered around the centre of the house, with the kitchen, living room and dining room each occupying the base of one of the three wings.

Two of the wings extending from this central cluster contain bedrooms and offices with large windows to take advantage of views of the forested site, while the third contains a double garage and utility spaces.

Between the wings are three courtyard-like terraces that have wooden decking.

Weathering-steel clad house
Weathering steel screens protect the timber. Photo is by Hampus Berndtson

The studios constructed the villa from cross-laminated timber (CLT), made from Baltic fir, because of its ecological and aesthetic credentials.

Throughout the interior, the CLT panels are exposed and treated with soap and lye to lighten and protect the wood.

Timber home with fireplace
CLT is exposed throughout the interior

"CLT is a sustainable product and it creates a great interior environment and a feeling of solidity that is missing from timber-framed houses," Marshall Blecher studio founder Marshall Blecher told Dezeen.

"Using CLT allowed us to design the house with millimetre precision and know that we would have a sharp interior finish and a precise structure to add to."

Timber-clad interior of CLT villa
Lye-washed timber creates a light interior

The weathering-steel cladding, which was custom-made for Villa Korup, was designed to help the building blend in with its surroundings.

"The weathering steel skin protects the building from the elements and allows it to settle into the landscape," Blecher said.

"The panels react to the site's conditions and develop over time, starting out with an oily grey metallic finish, gradually streaking with orange fading into a mottled brown and eventually settling into a deep, earthy umber."

Steel-clad family home
The facade has no visible screws. Photo is by Hampus Berndtson

The studios worked with a local blacksmith to develop a system that allows the steel screens to hang off the facade, negating the need for them to be fixed in place using screws.

"We visited a number of other Corten projects when designing the house and saw that most used painted stainless steel screws to fix cladding into place," Blecher explained.

"We wanted to avoid having these visible screw heads and the denting and uneven weathering which the screws cause."

Wooden deck outside CLT house
Wooden terraces function as social spaces

As well as choosing CLT for the facade because it is a more sustainable product, the studio designed the house with a ground source heat pump, which generates less CO2 than conventional heating.

"The house is highly insulated and includes a ground source heat pump for efficient and sustainable temperature regulation," Blecher added.

Connected CLT volumes
The house was built for a family of six

Danish-German architect Jan Henrik Jansen has designed a number of CLT houses together with Marshall Blecher. The studio previously created a Danish holiday home formed by overlapping cylindrical and log-covered blocks.

Marshall Blecher recently unveiled its vision for a "parkipelago" of floating islands in Copenhagen, which it created together with Studio Fokstrot.

Einrum Arkitekter is a design studio based in Denmark that specialises in CLT construction.

Photography is by Gabrielle Gualdi unless stated otherwise.

More images

Villa Korup plan
Plan
Villa Korup elevations
Elevations
Wooden kitchen with marble kitchen island
Steel house on muddy ground
Weathering steel panels
The house was built for a family of six
Steel-clad villa with wooden deck
Timber home with fireplace