The Friggatto: self-building in Stockholm

Building is great, building for yourself and without a permit is even better. The Full Scale Studio designers from the KTH School of Architecture in Stockholm did just that with “The Friggatto” - a combination of two kinds of minimal houses, and on an extremely tight budget. 



“Friggebod” is 15 square metres and “Attefallshus” is 25 square metres and they are two buildings that don't require permits, so they are separate but have been merged into FRIGGATTO, a self-constructed building of 40 square metres that is the end result of a whole heap of creativity and very tight budget. This is the response of Master Studio 1/ Full Scale Studio - a programme for Masters degree students at the KTH School of Architecture in Stockholm - to the growing demand for affordable housing with low environmental impact. An exercise in “real-time” and “hands-on” construction instead of computer simulation!





“Atto” is designed as an open space on two levels and is made from plywood sheets that are also perfect for use as pin boards; the floor is mahogany, sourced from an old factory that was being demolished. An old Japanese technique was used for the burnt wood facade, which didn't require paint or chemicals to make it weatherproof.


“Frigg” is actually a mobile unit on wheels and tracks, so it can be moved at least every 6 months to be detached from “Atto”, thereby getting around building regulations. So it is classed as a vehicle, not a building. 
 





All of these solutions have been adopted to avoid bureaucracy, like the roof that is not officially considered as such because it's 50% transparent, and the lack of a real stairwell for Atto, despite it being on two levels.



The Friggatto is sustainable and self-built architecture that exploits the loopholes in Swedish building legislation, and, as the designers stress, it proves that building on a budget is possible, as long as all the labourers who put their effort into the building are counted as fun and not as a cost!

Christiane Bürklein

Project: Master Studio 1/ Full Scale Studio http://www.fullscalestudio.blogspot.se/
Location: Stockhol, Sweden
Year: 2015 
Images: Courtesy of Master Studio 1/ Full Scale Studio (Full Scale Studio through Anders Berensson & Ebba Hallin)