Even the Smallest Scrap of Wood Holds Value

Erik Kolman Janouch and Victor Boye Julebäk of Kolman Boye Architects designed a distinctive experimental project using offcuts from Dinesen’s plank production. The project—called Saltviga House—is based on a caring approach to the setting, the materials, and the family who will live there—now and in the future.

Architectural Firm Embraces Sustainability and Cultural Preservation

Erik and Victor are graduates of the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. Besides their academic backgrounds, each brings their unique perspective to the company and their joint projects. Alongside the architecture firm, Erik runs a carpentry business in Latvia that can process materials and build small-scale versions of projects for further development and refinement at the studio. This creates an essential link between the drawing table and practical craftsmanship. Besides his role in the architecture firm, Victor works as a researcher at the Centre for Sustainable Building Culture (center for Bæredygtig Bygningskultur) at the Royal Danish Academy.

Kolman Boye Architects approach every project with curiosity, almost like a research endeavour. They combine thorough exploration with carefully considering physical constructive conditions and extensive material studies.

From Offcuts to Architecture: The Story of Saltviga House

Twelve thousand pieces of leftover wood were given a new life and purpose in Saltviga House, also nicknamed House of Offcuts. The choice of wood for the building was very intentional. The character of the wood, its texture, dimensions, and the way it ages and reacts, formed the core of the project. With help from Asger Højlund, Erik and Victor envisioned and built a house that reflects the nature of the timber it is made from: as a natural part of the landscape shaped by wind and weather.

With an approach rooted in sensitivity to experiential aspects, cultural heritage, and the physical qualities of architecture, it was vital for Erik and Victor to design a beautiful, durable, and well-suited building with a thoughtful, caring, and mindful approach to its environment. Saltviga House is not only a visual delight but also engages the senses of hearing, touch, and smell through its materiality and harmony with the landscape.

Chance Bringing Douglas and Oak Together

The idea for Saltviga House came about through serendipity, as the architects were working on projects involving Dinesen wood, albeit in different forms. Erik was designing a bespoke staircase for a project in Norway using traditional Dinesen Douglas planks. Victor was investigating possible uses of leftover wood from Dinesen’s production of Oak planks for a student project at the Royal Danish Academy. This practical experience with the tactility of the two different types of timber, rekindled their curiosity about the material's potential and sparked the idea of building a house from leftover wood. The result is a single-family home with an exterior crafted from Oak offcuts and customised interior solutions in Douglas.

"We tried stacking in different ways to help us understand how much material we would need, how it would look, and how much work would be involved in cutting it to size and treating it," said Erik Kolman.

The house is built on a rocky slope in the Norwegian archipelago, situated between the sea and the forest in a rugged, rocky landscape with dense stands of fir, deciduous trees, and shrubs. With the sea on one side and the forest on the other, the Saltviga House naturally integrates into its surroundings. A thorough analysis of terrain and climate and careful processing of materials were key aspects of the process. Every single offcut was tested, processed, and prepared to withstand the sometimes harsh Norwegian weather.

The core idea was to design a building that harmonises with its environment through thoughtful coexistence with nature. The sustainability strategy focuses on two key aspects: capturing as much CO2 as possible through timber construction and repurposing leftover wood from Dinesen’s plank production to extend the lifespan of the tree trunk by giving it a new form and purpose.

Giving Every Piece a Purpose

Saltviga House embodies the ambition to create meaningful projects with enduring lifespan by utilising resources from nature and the forest. Kolman Boye Architects and Dinesen teamed up on this project, sharing the belief that even the smallest pieces of wood are valuable if used with care.

“It's about using all resources in a beautiful way.” Victor Boye continued, “there's a frugality to it, in being curious to use something we'd normally not use.”