Studio and private home Agger

GOAL no. 3, 11, 12

A two-century-old fisherman’s cottage is being restored with inspiration from local building customs supplemented by a new-build in local natural materials.

Vacant houses are a blight in many rural towns and villages. Municipal administrators often opt for demolition. This is not only a loss of cultural heritage, which is crucial to attracting tourists and new residents, but also a waste of useful materials. In addition, renovation and construction are often carried out without regard for local building customs using new materials that may contain harmful chemicals.

A young architect couple moved from Copenhagen to Agger, where they are currently restoring a fisherman’s cottage from 1827. Next to the cottage, the architects have added a new building to serve as their joint studio and home.

In the cottage, they are restoring the original wall made of beach boulders set in clay mortar, a traditional local building method that is all but lost. Many of the worm-eaten posts and beams with carvings made by previous inhabitants retain sufficient load-bearing capacity to be reused.

In the new-build, reused materials from local demolition projects and nontoxic local materials were used, including seashells, wood wool insulation, wood, sand, lime and clay. In their basic composition, these materials are similar to traditional ones and fully applicable in contemporary construction. The construction is autoclaved aerated concrete, which contains no chemicals and can be crushed and recycled. The window frames are locally made with a linseed oil finish. The ceiling is lined with cheap pinewood planks from the local building supply centre, and the floor is made of ordinary bricks set in sand. The front door and many of the furnishings and interior elements are made of left-over wood from the construction.

This project demonstrates the feasibility of challenging building conventions and using a much larger share of local and natural materials in newbuilds. It is also an example of building and restoring with respect for local building traditions.

Project details

Where: Vesterhavsvej 3, Agger, 7770 Vestervig

Opening year: 2021

Client: Caroline Hahn and Ebbe Lavsen

Architects: Hahn Lavsen