The sand dunes of Denmark's largest national park, Thy, are punctuated by old fishermen's cottages. Along this stretch of coast is a surfer's paradise nicknamed "Cold Hawaii", where local architecture studio Hahn Lavsen has transformed one of these historic houses from the early 1900s into a contemporary guesthouse.

On a 9900 m² plot in Thy National Park, a solitary cottage appears on the horizon of an untamed coastal landscape. With no neighbours in sight, the endless, isolated plains of Leymus seem to have no beginning or end. From a distance, the building resembles a classic fisherman's hut, but when you get closer it becomes clear that the Hahn Lavsen architecture studio has designed a modern version of the local architectural vernacular. Now, guests are greeted by 185 m² of geometric shapes and repeated silhouettes, revealing a stunning structure that blends seamlessly into the landscape and is striking in its simplicity.

The guest house exudes a subtle confidence and robustness designed to withstand the outside elements. Embracing a bold minimalism, the architecture features a limited material palette, honest expression and intentional rawness. “Pursuing a palette of only 5 materials, processed as little as possible, was a guiding design principle in the transformation”, explains the architect couple, Caroline Hahn and Ebbe Lavsen.
The walls are built with highly insulating aerated concrete monoblocks, roughly whitewashed both inside and out. To resist wind, sea and salt, the roof is lined with untreated Douglas fir with 100 per cent heartwood. As a reference to the area's original purpose as farmland, classic oak stable doors are repeated in every room and allow for natural ventilation. The glass walls are another repetitive element, going almost unnoticed on the façade as they are recessed into the back of the walls. The exposed brick floors, laid with sand instead of classic mortar, pave the way for a refined brutalism and an unexpected spatial experience that harks back to the long stretches of beach sand that peek through the windows.

“When you step out the door, you step into a national park. The sensation of being in a no-mans-land, almost in a moon-landscape strikes you. Like the unspoiled rawness of nature that embraces you upon arrival, the house greets you with an unvarnished straightforwardness”, says Lavsen.

The interior
While the exterior of the house gains its character from the rawness of its materials, the interior, curated by interior designer Julie Cloos Mølsgaard, is filled with furniture and objects of great precision and craftsmanship. “I aimed to make the Vipp guesthouse in Cold Hawaii as tranquil and comfortable as possible, creating somewhere guests would want to stay longer and where they could simply relax surrounded by the untamed nature,” says Cloos Mølsgaard.
Like the architects, Julie Cloos Mølsgaard used a simple materials scheme, where wood, metal, glass, stone and natural fibres are interwoven to create a bespoke interior, and where texture, rather than colour, creates interest and provides a relaxing atmosphere. Vipp furniture is mixed with pieces from neighbouring craft shops, vintage relics and works by local artists.