In Finland, the market for private houses has long been dominated by prefabricated buildings - in the spirit of national romanticism or simple, "basic" options. Only a small percentage of private housing is designed for one customer, adjusted to a specific site and thought out to the details by a "real" architect. Interestingly, in neighboring Estonia, since its independence, the situation is almost completely opposite: even families with average incomes - especially in the capital region - hire architects when they are going to build a house.
However, in Finland, private orders often come from ordinary people who need a cozy home, but do not need space for a large art collection, a grand living room and dining room. It would be worthwhile to better agitate the public in favor of cooperation with architects in the construction of private houses and cooperatives: after all, only then can all the advantages of the site and the surroundings as a whole, as well as the wishes of future residents, be taken into account. A private house designed by an architect will not necessarily be more expensive than a romantic McMansion (a well-established name for a typical "mansion" by analogy with McDonalds - Archi.ru's note).
The MM house in question was commissioned by the architect Tuomas Siitonen for a family with two children, where both husband and wife are engaged in the performing arts: they needed a modest-sized building, however, including a separate apartment for their grandmother.
This house was Siitonen's first “real” building: he previously worked in the architecture studio of his father, Professor Tuomo Siitonen, and at Heikkinen – Komonen Architects, and also worked on projects outside the “standard” architectural practice and temporary use strategies in Helsinki … The MM house gave him the opportunity to open his own workshop, and also got to the next exhibition of new buildings in Finland at the Museum of Finnish Architecture: it was included in the top 20 buildings for 2012-2013, where there were only three private houses (including MM).
The first sketch of Tuomas Siitonen was, as his brave customers considered, even too modest and "cautious". They sent him into a more avant-garde direction, but with the condition of adhering to budget limits. The resulting house is both bold and very clear, its appearance is defined by a strict geometric shape. With an area of about 170 m2, there is no lack of comfort and simplicity, or spaciousness and homely grandezza.
The house stands at the foot of a granite slope, on top of which - within the same property - there is a blue wooden villa from the early 20th century, where the customer Siitonen grew up. The architect and his clients wanted to preserve the garden that existed on the site, so the site they chose for the construction was not optimal in terms of illumination. The problem was solved with the help of a well-thought-out orientation of the building to the cardinal points, the configuration of the roof and the location of the premises in the house, and window openings along the facade.
The spacious porch, above which there is a terrace on the 2nd floor, provides ample storage space for bicycles and skis. On the ground floor there are rooms of modest size: an entrance hall, a bathroom with a sauna, a dressing room, which can also be used as a guest bedroom. From there there is an additional door to the outside: according to the Finnish tradition, after the sauna, even in winter it is worth going outside. Also on the first tier is the grandmother's apartment with its own terrace: given the age of the hostess, there are no thresholds and other potentially dangerous parts. The apartment also has its own entrance to the sauna.
An upstairs staircase leads to a spacious common room, combined with an open kitchen. Its large window overlooks a terrace covered with a long, upward-extending roof overhang. The fireplace goes out into the room and onto the terrace at the same time.
Small children's bedrooms are located side by side. Later, if necessary, they can be combined into one room.
Above the kitchen there is a small attic-type room where you can play music and watch movies while lying on bean bags: the customers did not want the plasma screen to dominate the cozy common room. Behind the "attic" is the master bedroom with a French window, from where you can see a semi-urban, semi-rural landscape with a foresters' club built 100 years ago.
There is no "useless" luxury in the house, but the materials have been chosen with great care. In the overall spirit and in some of the details of the building, one can sense Aalto's inspiration. Different levels and unexpectedly opening openings and perspectives, cozy and at the same time modern atmosphere reminded me of the book “House in the Sun”, which is very dear to me, by the Swedish artist Carl Larsson.
Tuomas Siitonen admits that lately he has been fascinated by modern Japanese houses and their "three-dimensionality". In developing some of the details, his experience of a student internship in Madrid came in handy, where he learned to make extensive use of rough working models in the design.
The facade is sheathed with larch wood, the interior is combined with white paint. The only dark room is the coal-black sauna and bathroom. The kitchen furniture is made by a Scandinavian birch woodworker, a friend of the family.
In conclusion, I want to emphasize: MM is not an exemplary exhibit, but a real home: not all of the furniture there is new, many details indicate the creative profession of the owners, and it is intended primarily to enjoy life with family and friends.
