An old farm in Southern Sweden has reemerged as one of the country’s premiere destinations for fine wine and Michelin-starred dining. And now, the Ästad Vingård winery welcomes a new ‘floating village’, offering gastro-tourists a weekend refuge on the banks of an artificial lake.

Sjöparken, designed by Danish practice Norm Architects in Halland, comprises seven wood villas with glass corridors facing the water, channelling the tranquillity of Japanese temples. The villas are elevated on concrete blocks to create the illusion of floating. Each structure encompasses four private hotels rooms, linked by these glass walkways that mimic open-air paths.

Kasper Rønn Von Lotzbeck and Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen of Norm used oak cladding, vernacular green roofs and expansive banks of glass to bring nature into the very essence of each space – and immerse the spaces themselves into the surrounding landscape. Textural oak louvres within the rooms demarcate functions and provide privacy while allowing sunlight to permeate the interior. The interplay of light and reflected water on the walls and ceilings deliver a sort of ‘artwork’ that excites and calms in equal measure. Built-in oak furnishings eliminate the need for busy decor beyond warm upholstered seating and ceramics.

The villas are furnished with wood saunas by the water’s edge and, below the lake’s surface, a private pool accessed from the outdoor wood decking.

Norm also designed the property’s Äng restaurant, located in a glasshouse surrounded by wildflower fields.

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