Shinrin-yoku - forest bathing in Sweden

JAPANESE HALLAND COUNTY-STYLE HOUSE IN THE WOODS.  That’s how easy couple Anders and Sara Wennerström explained the plan for their weekend home. The couple are otherwise based in the little village Slöinge in Falkenberg municipality. – We live really nice in a house from 1901 and since years back, it also houses a bakery with a garden café. While the business was growing, we noticed that we needed a place where we could relax and be by ourselves. You can’t live at work in the long run, says Sara.   The plans took off when a local supplier of apple juice told us that they could free a piece of land in a forest area; this started a many year journey. – Already early on in the process, we reached some pretty simple ideas where the contrast to the everyday life in the village could be maximised. Forest bathing originates from Japan where office workers in the 1970’s died from karoshi (death related to overwork). As an answer to this, the authorities started Shinrin-yoku in the 1980’s, which in English translates into forest bathing. Today, there are around a hundred official bathing forests in Japan and the phenomenon is quickly spreading over the world. The Japanese researcher Dr Qing Li describes forest bathing: “It is simply being in nature, connecting with it through of our sense of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.” Forest bathing is about taking it easy and “bathing” in the impressions from the forest. 

– We were already onto these thoughts without even knowing it, maybe it’s something universal? says Anders.
The ideas made it simpler to draw up guidelines for the house’s design and placement. The house has to be extremely close to nature with as little tree cutting as possible. One way of getting closer to nature was to use the shape of a classic Halland county style house (Sw. Hallandslänga), which with its small depth always keeps you close to the outer walls and in extension, the forest surrounding you. As a contrast to the house in the village, the couple wanted the house to be experienced as a public space free from decoration. In that way, the surrounding nature via large glass sections would stand for all the impressions. – We joked about having the same feeling as if we were to linger at the art museum Louisina when they call out ”The museum is about to close”. That is what we feel it has become.
The house body is built with a 24m long and 5,7m elongated building, placed with the short side down towards a slightly slanted leafy forest. Towards the south long side, there is a big field with a view over a valley. Due to the plot having a slight slant, it was natural to cast the foundation in two different heights which then were used to create room in the room between the kitchen and lounge. The big roof protects the house from rain and sunlight, making it possible to have big windows. Throughout the house, the material choices are simple with polished concrete floor (the family has a dog), exterior in brown-stained pine and all interior walls in whitewashed birch plywood.

– In order to feel close to the trees, field and sound of wind and rain, we made acoustic measures one of the house’s main priorities from the start, explains Anders and continues. It was obvious to us because we chose such hard interior materials with all the glass and concrete. Otherwise, noise from crockery, our voices and music would have drowned us and taken over the sound environment.
Andreas Hultfeldt from A.M. Acoustics visited the building site and put forward a suggestion of acoustic measures. – I loved the couple’s ideas about an environment where the “forest bathing” 
could be enjoyed from inside the house thanks to the large parties of glass. That the absence of decoration and furniture for that matter, could create an almost temple like public space in hard materials with glass and concrete. At the same time, it of course meant an acoustic challenge, explains Andreas. 
A.M. Acoustics drew up a plan with a sub-ceiling with wooden laths which the couple, in terms of design, already had been interested in. The laths, with an approximately 15 mm space in between, lie across the longitudinal direction which has a diffusing function; it means that they break up the soundwaves which in turn decreases unpleasant echo effects. Behind the laths, black Acoustic Nonwoven covers all of the 133 sqm sound absorbents. – Anders and Sara wanted the same expression in all of the rooms. We work with EcoSUND, which is made of 50 % recycled PET and withstands damp environments. That is how we also could recommend the same solution for the sub-ceiling in the washroom. We were extremely happy with the result. The sound environment even became a notch better than in many office spaces with fully covering acoustic ceilings. Sound leakage from one room to another, so called sound transmission, is a common problem that A.M. Acoustics want to minimize. In private homes, it often originates from not sound isolating the inner wall’s invisible extension up to the outer roof. This means that sound can pass through the space above the inner wall and under the outer roof. Here, A.M. Acoustics could recommend a simple solution in consultation with the builder. – By putting a board with high density above all inner walls, all the way up to the outer roof, the rooms could be sealed in a better way. A simple way to avoid hearing for example the sound of the shower in the bedroom next door, Andreas finishes.