Timber Court
Cross-laminated frames wrap a shared courtyard. No applied ornament, just joinery and weather.
Houses, halls and small public rooms for northern light. Thin structure, honest material, and thresholds that make a quiet case for restraint.
Fig. 01Cover, folded four times. Move across it to open the sheet.
02 / Light study
Where does the sun land?
Every project starts with this drawing. Drag the sun, pick a day, and see how deep direct light reaches through an equator-facing window. The numbers are real geometry, not a sales pitch.
Section A, window head 2.4 m, sill 0.5 m, room 8 m deep
Drag the sun, or use the controls
03 / Services
Three kinds of quiet work.
We keep the practice small on purpose, so the person who draws your first sketch also walks the finished rooms with you.
- i.
Light studies
A short, fixed-scope study of your site: sun paths across the year, shadow from neighbours, and where the good rooms want to be.
Before you buy or brief - ii.
Houses
New homes and deep renovations, drawn from the light study outward. Timber, lime, oak and very few details that shout.
From sketch to keys - iii.
Small public rooms
Libraries, bath houses, reading rooms and halls for communities that want one very good room rather than many ordinary ones.
For councils and trusts
Fjord Library
A reading room sunk half a metre below the quay so the horizon sits at eye level.
White Bath
Lime plaster volumes open to steam and sky through a single oversized rooflight.
3°
Field note
The shallowest roof pitch in the sample set. Water still finds its way down.
05 / Method
Survey, draw, build.
That is the whole method. Each stage ends with something you can hold: a drawing, a model, a set of keys.
Walk the site
We visit at two times of day, measure, photograph and note where the wind comes from.
Light study
Sun paths and sections like the one above, delivered as a short printed booklet.
Paper model
A folded card model at 1:50 so you can hold the house before anyone digs.
Build with you
We stay on through tender and site visits, down to the last oiled threshold.
06 / Ledger
The practice, in figures.
Sample figures for this demo. Replace them with your own.
- Projects in the annual (sample)
- 41
- Cities across the north (sample)
- 12
- People in the studio (sample)
- 6
- Paper models per house (sample)
- 3
07 / Index
The annual, indexed.
pp. 004 to 218
| Page | Project | Location | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 014 | Timber Court | Aarhus | Housing |
| 042 | Fjord Library | Oslo | Culture |
| 088 | White Bath | Malmö | Civic |
| 126 | Quarry House | Bergen | House |
| 168 | North Annex | Reykjavík | Extension |
08 / Margin notes
From the people inside.
Sample quotes, shown to illustrate the layout.
"The light study changed which room we put the kitchen in. Winter breakfast now happens in the sun."
"They brought a paper model to the first council meeting. Everyone understood the building in a minute."
09 / Questions
Asked often.
If yours is not here, ask it in the form below.
What do I get from a light study?
A short printed booklet with sun paths for your site across the seasons, sections through the main rooms, and a plain-language note on where to put what. It is useful even if you never build with us.
Do you work outside the Nordic countries?
Yes. The method travels. Tell us where the site is and we will say honestly whether we can visit it properly.
How accurate is the drawing on this page?
It uses standard solar geometry for the day, time and latitude you choose, with a simplified room. A real study uses your actual site, neighbours and orientation.
How do fees work?
Light studies are a fixed fee agreed up front. Houses and public rooms are quoted after the first site walk, once we know what the project really is.
10 / Editor’s note
Signe Halvorsen
Architect, modern classicist
Northern architecture, long light, thin lines. The annual collects the year’s work; the studio makes the next year’s.
@studio.novaStudio
Copenhagen
Season
Winter light
Volume
2026
11 / Commission
Tell us about the site.
A few lines is plenty: where it is, what you hope to build, and roughly when. We reply personally.
Your light study so far
Latitude 55.7°, 21 Dec, 12:00
We will attach this to your enquiry.