Architecture: Caroline Hahn and Ebbe Lavsen, Hahn Lavsen studio
Interior design: Julie Cloos Mølsgaard
Furnishings: Vipp; vintage pieces, works by local artisans and artists
Photo credits: courtesy of Vipp
It emerges from the landscape as the only artificial touch along the horizon of a wild coastal scenery. In the vast Thy National Park (in Denmark), specifically in the small town of Vangså, this solitary cottage rises from the lush clearing, paying homage to vernacular architecture with its pure geometric shapes and a natural simplicity that harmonizes with the surroundings.
Vipp Cold Hawaii is the latest guesthouse created by the Danish brand Vipp, which, since 2014 with Vipp Shelter in Sweden, has expanded its portfolio to include hospitality structures alongside homeware, lighting, and furniture. These structures are characterized by a slow-living approach and a deep connection with the territory in which they are located.
This philosophy is evident in Vipp Cold Hawaii, a two-story building designed to accommodate up to 8 guests in its 185 square meters over two floors. For the architecture, the Hahn Lavsen studio chose a palette of only five materials – wood, concrete, steel, bricks, and glass – left as raw as possible.
The walls that frame the 185-square-meter structure are made of concrete blocks, plastered roughly both inside and out to create a tactile and material continuity, while the roof is clad with untreated Douglas fir. The classic oak stable doors provide natural ventilation, rhythmically dividing the rooms, as do the glass walls, which represent an additional tool of continuity with the outdoors. The floors, made of exposed bricks, echo the stretches of sand visible from the house, with a touch of elegant brutalism.
The same sensory quality of the architecture, made of material textures and soft colors, is found in the interior design curated by Julie Cloos Mølsgaard. She has transferred the surrounding landscape inside through a selection of furnishings, fabrics, and neutral-toned nuances. The interior features a similarly limited selection of materials such as wood, metal, glass, stone, and natural fibers, used in various creations from the Vipp collections—most notably the central Vipp V3 island kitchen—alongside artisanal and vintage pieces, and works by local artists.
