6.8.2020

House L

The L house is designed as a holiday home for an architect’s family that can be used all the year round. It is built on a farm which has been in the family’s ownership for several generations.

Originally, the idea was simply to update the wet spaces and washing facilities. However, as the single-family house was gradually revealed to be in poor condition, it was decided to rebuild the house almost entirely.

The construction work was carried out on a modest budget. The aim was to construct a simple, useable building that would clearly show off the skills of local craftsmen. Because of the extent of the remodelling, design work and construction overlapped. Many details were agreed with the builders on site, as work progressed.

The building’s new look combines the simplicity and practicality of vernacular building with 1970s flat-roof architecture. The building, which is otherwise constructed almost entirely of wood, has a ‘loft’ suspended from the roof by steelwork.

The timber frame is insulated with cellulose fibre. Internal surfaces are in radial-sawn spruce boarding finished with wax, while floors are in timber boarding or coloured concrete. The heat-storage fireplace below the loft warms the interior on cold winter days.

Elevations are clad in spruce boarding, galvanised steel or recycled bricks taken from the original building and rendered in blue. The multi-purpose terrace is reminiscent of the verandas of old buildings. In summertime, it forms an intermediate space which continues in two directions, inwards and outwards. 

Project in brief

House L

  • Location | Soini
  • Purpose | Summer house
  • Total area | 220 m2
  • Architectural Design | OOPEAA
  • Structural design | Eero Kotkas & Outi Niskanen
  • Photographs | James Silverman
  • Text | Puuinfo Oy