Architects: KUU arhitektid
Area: 225 m²
Year: 2020
Photographs: Tõnu Tunnel
Lead Architect: Joel Kopli
Construction Design: Mapri Ehitus
Concrete Works: Evocon Grupp
City: Pringi
Country: Estonia
The house delicately integrates with the surrounding pine forest, blending into the existing spatial context while maintaining a maximum amount of greenery around itself and in between.
The single-story structure in a wooded area creates a discrete and serene horizontal setting without any exaggerated attempt to establish itself – it is a natural part of the landscape.
A meaningful, sincere relationship between the inner and outer realms is created by avoiding the use of thresholds. The rooms that are used daily are level with the surrounding ground. Glass partitions opening to terraces shaded by ‘beaks’ further haze the boundary between interior and exterior space.
The U-shaped structure is combined with L-shaped living quarters and I-shaped utility space. The two units join by a canopied entrance, service, and parking area. A still, windless inner courtyard with southern exposure to the sun lies in between the volumes, enveloped by three sides.
The dwelling unit has an open kitchen and living room area with an office partition, two smaller bedrooms with a shared bathroom, one master bedroom with a bathroom and wardrobe, a technical room, and a workout room.
The kitchen and living room open to the terrace situated in the internal courtyard. The bedrooms open to the terrace on the eastern side of the building. The utility building houses the saunas, the washing room, the sauna vestibule, and larger storage space.
The chosen materials support the fusion between the buildings and the forest milieu. The exterior finish is wooden boarding painted black and concrete monolith cast in framework with the same profile, creating a dualistic yet harmonious fuse between the two materials.
The triangular terrace sidewalls covered with black boarding also serve as hidden storage places, enabling storage outdoor equipment while concealing outdoor water faucets, the pool control device, rainwater pipes, etc.
The technical communications solutions of the building are beneath the floor, enabling clean exposition of the concrete surfaces on walls as well as ceilings.