Artists' dwelling in Nuuksio, "Pink Pythagoras"

Abstract

This project is an architectural design for an artist's house that is to be built on a forest site in Nuuksio, in the municipality of Espoo, Finland.

The site is close to the border of Nuuksio National Park, and zoned for holiday houses. The permitted building area is restricted to 80 m2 for a single dwelling, with an additional 40 m2 for outbuildings.

The long and narrow site lies across a densely forested ridge with a dramatic cliff, which drops ten metres to a pine-forested peat bog. The designer has selected a sheltered area of the north-facing slope to build the house, in a place with good views and connections to natural paths.

The designer has mapped the movement of his body in the landscape and used his subjective experience of the place as a conceptual point of departure for the location and form of the house. The design aims to fit the building into the landscape in a sensitive manner that enhances and preserves the natural features and character of the environment.

The house is designed to meet the lifestyles of two artists: an architect and a choreographer. They require space to create dance, spatial flexibility to work on art projects, and a spatial design that permits the spectrum of events from entertainment to retreat and the observation of nature.

The house is organised to combine spaces with distinct orientations in the landscape: a dance studio, a bedroom suite, a living area, and a cellar with a sauna and housekeeping facilities. The circulation into and through the building follows the movement in the landscape. The parts are arranged in a dynamic harmony under a flying folded roof.

The house projects itself from the top of the ridge to suspend the main living spaces above the landscape. The form draws from the far horizon of an imaginary lake that has disappeared into the surface of the bog.

The house will be self-sufficient in the provision and treatment of water, and provided with wood fired heating, and with a dry composting toilet.

The construction materials are selected for durability, ecological characteristics and sensual qualities. Wood is used extensively, for the structural frame and surfacing. The house is insulated with natural fibre to permit a breathing structure, and to avoid the need for plastic vapour barriers. Surfaces are left untreated where possible or treated with non-toxic finishes. The exterior of the house should achieve a natural patina with time.

The house has been carefully designed over a period of a year, with numerous models and site visits. The design has been constantly adjusted to fit the landscape more closely, and to achieve a high resolution of detail. The natural beauty of the site has been an education and inspiration for an artistic approach to architecture.