Villa Luella – designer Minna Parikka’s unique second home

Located on an island off the coast of Southern Finland, Villa Luella is the unique new second home of fashion designer Minna Parikka. Completed in 2023, it is named after her young daughter. The two-section main building with a gabled roof is built on dozens of pillars and painted a striking pink throughout.

Read the article in Finnish here.

Villa Luella offers beautiful views of the Baltic and over the reeds of the shoreline thanks to its careful placement on the plot. Sketches by Parikka herself served as the inspiration for the architectural design. Minna praises architect Mikki Ristola for adding his professional touch to her ideas, refining and improving them further.

“I envisioned a house that floated on pillars, and I had a particular shape in mind. I also wanted the house to be pink because I find the colour empowering. To my delight, Mikki didn’t tone down my sketches – quite the opposite! He was equally excited about the project and added unique details of his own such as the decorative gingerbread-like eaves. The same shape echoes elsewhere in the house and interior design”, notes Minna Parikka.

The resulting building arose from this collaboration between Parikka and architect Mikki Ristola.

“This was a different and fun project where we could be bold with the design. The result is inimitable yet contains traditional elements of archipelago homes. “We tried to design a house befitting the customer, and I think we succeeded”, comments architect Mikki Ristola.

“This became my dream house”

Parikka chose Finnlog because of its expertise. In Minna’s opinion, Finnlog had the right abilities and operating model, and its references from earlier projects were stellar. These projects showed how meticulous their work was and how carefully they considered the details, all of which convinced her.

“As soon as the exterior cladding was finished, I knew this would be my dream house! When the jumbo-sized pink gingerbread shapes appeared on the eaves and upper frames of the windows, the house showed its distinctive character”, says Minna.

Parikka continues that the Villa Luella construction project went smoothly and was stress-free – thanks to Finnlog’s skilled builders and excellent communication skills.

“The carpenter fully understood what I wanted for the interior design, which meant I didn’t have to worry about what was going on at the construction site. The finishing touches were added with care, and all the details are just as they should be. This is a good place to be. It feels spacious and comforting, and the building overall turned out even better than I expected”, Parikka notes in praises.

Technical solutions

The exterior walls are 200 mm thick CLT panels, clad vertically with façade panels installed on cross bracing. There is no additional thermal insulation. The ventilated subfloor rests on a piled foundation and is insulated with Finnfoam floor XPS insulation. Its load-bearing beams are Kertopuu’s LVL joists.

Posi-Joists were used for the intermediate floor, which enabled the installation of building services inside the beams. Ekovilla’s inflatable wood fibre insulation was used for the intermediate and upper floors. Both floors have underfloor heating in a plaster cast floor structure, and the floor covering in dry spaces is seashell shaped parquet.

Construction

As the client had a specific vision for the interior design and procured several items herself, potentially influencing the work and schedules of contractors, the project used a shared contract model. Finnlog handled all the structural engineering designs and work from the sturdy foundations to the tiniest mouldings. In turn, Spigot Oy handled all the HVAC designs and installations from the geothermal well to the pink toilet seats. Maanrakennus Rocksand Oy carried out demolition, earthworks and local municipal engineering, joined by Tervastalo Oy in charge of landscaping.