Middelboe House

Jørn Utzon – Middelboe House, holte, denmark, 1953-1955

Jørn Utzon designed and built Middleboe House in Holte, Denmark, between 1953-55. He completed the residence in 1955 – only a year before embarking on his career-defining commission for the Sydney Opera House, which occupied him until 1973.
In this house, he really experimented with materiality and structure in a modernist grid. The columns and large glass walls are reminiscent of Mies' Farnsworth House.
Utzon highlighted structure in his design, color coding it himself. The black elements are concrete beams and the red is the secondary wooden structure. The house was inspired by Asian construction techniques and relies on gravity instead of nails and screws to hold the house up.
The house's relationship to its site. It is located next to a canal in Denmark which provides a beautiful view but also a privacy concern. Utzon addressed this concern by moving the bedrooms to the back of the house, away from the river to give them privacy. He also sited the house in between the two large trees on the property for shade and added privacy.
Sourde: http://ifwallscoulddream.blogspot.com/2016/06/middelboe-house-by-jorn-utzon.html