Seven stories for seven houses in Skane

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to decipher the drawings of the seven courtyard houses that J0rn Utzon designed far the Swedish region of Skane. The compilation and interpretation of these drawings purports to reveal Utzon's ideas about the inhabitant, daily life and domesticity. The hypothesis is that these drawings represent his "good life" conception, the values of which transcend the ages in which he did the project. lt is intended to demonstrate that Utzon creates a system that actualizes vernacular architecture and the courtyard type, attached economy and functionality, but does not fall into modern house models generalities. The drawings of the floor plan of each house and the few sections carry a particular narrative of the inhabitant's life as he imagines it. These unbuilt houses contain the principies that would later be reproduced in Utzon's built domestic work. And it can be said that they discuss general aspects of Nordic architecture, its roots and its connection to the character of the inhabitants of the region.