Villa Snellman

Erik Gunnar Asplund – Villa Snellman, Djursholm, 1917-1918

Villa Snellman is a residential building on a corner plot in Lokevägen – Odinvägen in Djursholm, Danderyds municipality. 
Villa Snellman was built in 1917-18 designed by architect Gunnar Asplund for bank director Emil Snellman, it is considered Asplund's first work. The building was designed in neoclassical style with elements of Empire style and 20s classicism of Swedish cut. The villa consists of two connected buildings; one with two floors for a total of nine rooms and the other with one floor and three rooms. The latter building is at an angle to the main building, angle less than 90 degrees, providing a fenced courtyard with a particular perception of space. The main building, which houses most of the features of the villa, is remarkably narrow with a width of 1,5 rooms which gives a light interior. All rooms are south facing with views of the garden.

On the upper floor are the rooms arranged along a corridor with converging walls. The interior is characterized by a rustic, well-detailed and organically free style, while the exterior is more classicistically rigorous and sophisticated in style. However, Asplund pushed the boundaries with “oblique” details such as the rows of windows, which are slightly staggered between the floors, the chamfered corner between the main building and the adjacent one and an asymmetrically positioned crescent-shaped basement window.