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Led by four women architects, the Swedish practice's work includes a treehouse hotel and a care centre for the elderly

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Main image: (L-R) Pye Aurell Ehrström, Louise Masreliez, Susanne Ramel, Katarina Grundsell. Photo: Johan Fowel

Who: Pye Aurell Ehrström, Katarina Grundsell, Louise Masreliez and Susanne Ramel; plus 12 staff
What: Architecture practice
Where: Stockholm, Sweden
When: Founded in 2002

From a treehouse hotel to a care centre for then elderly, Marge Arkitekter is quietly, but confidently, making a name for itself with projects that are deeply connected -- with a typically Scandinavian sensibility -- to project sites and use of materials. A design for the interior of a modern museum in Stockholm put the largely female practice on the map in 2004, while this year it won a competition to design a visitor centre in the national park of Trollskogen and another for a nursing home in Örebro, both in Sweden. 'We like working with public buildings on difficult sites, where a building becomes a meeting point and where we feel architecture can really make a difference,' says co-founder Louise Masreliez.

Villa Ekros, Lidingö (2010). Photo: Johan Fowel

The four female founders met while working at Swedish architecture practice sandellsandberg. And although the name comes from the first letters of their surnames, the connection with a blue-haired cartoon character isn't accidental. 'Architecture can easily become very serious and we thought the connection to Marge Simpson had some sort of... humour,' says co-founder Susanne Ramel. 'We didn't want... a company based on one architect. Marge is its own person, one that the whole firm can feel connected to.'

Norra Vram, southern Sweden (2008). Photo: Johan Fowel

With a wide range of Swedish projects, its Norra Vram care centre in the south brought in a raft of awards in 2008. A fairly large project by Marge's standards, it involves a sequence of red-brick volumes, arranged around a cluster of small gardens so residents can enjoy time outdoors. Indeed, a lot of the practice's projects are defined by a strong relationship with landscape, and Swedish traditions. Says Masreliez: 'Most of our projects are in the context of very traditional houses and we don't like to do something completely different; we prefer to break up the traditional shape and give it a contemporary twist.'

Its Villa Ekros (2010) looks to re-examine the traditional Swedish red house within the constraints of the island of Lidingö's strict building regulations.

Strömkajen, Stockholm (2013). Photo: Johan Fowel

The contemporary pitched roof rises sharply to minimise views between neighbours and preserve the site's trees. In 2011, the practice realised one of its smallest projects: a treehouse in the pines of Harads. Entitled A Room with a View, three small rooms are held up by slender steel columns. Another project, for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2012, saw Marge design an 'identity box' of PET that embodied the hallmarks of Nordic architecture. Last year a series of port terminal buildings in the heart of Stockholm was completed, built to serve travellers heading to the city's islands. Based on the form of a cone, the buildings are clad in a burnished brass alloy and frame views across the water. In characteristically Swedish style, the practice is modest of its success -- it says it has been 'quite lucky' with its projects.

Trollskogen, öland (in progress). Photo: Marge ark itek ter

But what about Marge being a primarily female practice? Says Ramel: 'There was really no intention in being only women but then after a while we realised that it makes a difference, because there are not that many female practices, and we think there should be. We can see that we are an inspiration for students.' CSH