Villa Bjart Mohr – Bjart Mohr

 The Villa Bjart Mohr, in Heyerdahlvei 6, Oslo was designed by the architect Bjart Mohr (in the picture above) for himself and his family in the early 1970’s.

Bjart Mohr developed a consistent and high quality work on his own, working independently throughout the years and has therefore a limited production.  For his own Villa, Mohr developed a composition of paralelipipedic volumes, in most part of just one floor high, which correspond to different internal functions: a west box, for the indoor’s swimming pool;  a south box, with a double-high ceiling for the living room, and a basement; a north wing that connects the 2 mentioned volumes and were are located the bedrooms and main entrance; and a smaller volume, for the dining room, that connects the living room with the kitchen(also in the north wing).

The project is well-thought and detailed and the result is a succession of comfortable and well lighten spaces and amazing views to the garden and the fjord. The swimming pool is a wonderful space with a shading system at the windows that allow controlling the light that gets in but at the same time allows the view to the outside. The double level living room is constituted by a more social area on the entrance floor, and a more private one in the mezzanine with a kind of floating library over the first level. The light is always just right and controlled. This volume benefits also from a windows’ stripe right above the slab.

The division of the different areas is made through sliding doors which give the possibility of enclosing the different areas or to create an open complex succession of spaces.

The garden is also a place of interested, of Japanese inspiration, calling out for contemplation and peace with its trellis and paved paths, contrasting dense areas with clear open lawns.

Unfortunately, there’s very little information about Bjart Mohr, but we can point out as his major works two art galleries: one in Hurumlandet (finished in 1971) and another in Holmsbu, for which Mohr got the Houen Foundation prize for architecture in 1971.