Apartments
3
House Spaak
Year
2016
Location
Helsinki
Area
450 m²
Photography
Ville Vappula
Design Team
Pauli Siponen
Atte Aaltonen
Niilo Ikonen
Apartments
3
Ollikaisen
hirsirakenne
Collaborators
Reconciling the new and the old in Helsinki's Vanhakaupunki
In January 2017, an ecological solid wood terraced house was completed on the lands of the 18th-century Forsby homestead in Helsinki's Vanhakaupunki. In the ensemble designed by Avarrus, modern, sleek new construction that respects tradition meets the historical environment.
Next to the new terraced house, one of Helsinki's oldest log buildings, Forsby's renkitupa, completed around 1730, i.e. Konstaapeli Spaak's house, is located on the plot, which was renovated with piety into common spaces for new apartments.
The old and new building form a natural pair in the middle of a park protected by the Antiquities Act. Nearby are the founding stone of Helsinki and the ruins of Helsinki's first church from the 1550s.
Log row house with natural ventilation.
Both buildings are red-earth painted wooden houses with gable roofs. In addition, yellow tiled elements and modern shapes and larger glass surfaces have been used in the new building. Logs and clt wood elements have been used in the frame of the new building. Traditional and simply functional solutions have also been used in building technology; both houses have gravity ventilation, which is rare for new buildings.
The new building has three three-bedroom family apartments of approximately one hundred square meters and one and a half stories. Downstairs, a bright, tall living room with an open kitchen opens from the hall, as well as a laundry room and a bedroom. Upstairs are two bedrooms with sloping ceilings and a bathroom.
The living spaces are wrapped around the brick-built central wall that stores heat, which hides the gravity ventilation and fireplace chimneys. A generous fireplace is located at the junction of the open kitchen and living room to create atmosphere and warmth. French balconies with double doors bring light and space to the bedrooms on the upper floor. From the living rooms, access to the courtyard terraces opens via sliding doors.
The atmosphere of the interior consists of strong materials; The wooden surfaces of Clt boards and logs bring warmth to the space, the polished concrete floor elegance and the brickwork roughness.
