Matchbox Villas

Location: Espoo, Finland

Architect: Avanto Architects Ltd

Client: Private

Material: Brick

Design date: 2016

Completion date: 2019

Built area: 720m²

Lead Architects: Anu Puustinen and Ville Hara, Architects SAFA

Interior Design: Poiat Office Oy

Manufacturers: AutoDesk, JUNG, Vibia, Bega, Modular Lighting Instruments, Rockfon, Wienerberger, Designbetoni, Schuco, Tapwell

Photographer: Arsi Ikäheimonen

Story:

Text provided by the architects:

The architectural challenge was to solve two detached houses in a place of one demolished house so that the new buildings would form a harmonious whole with the pines, rocks, and old stone fence.

The blocks settled down like overlapping matchboxes when the outdoor spaces were solved and both houses were offered the best possible views.

The special features of the houses are randomly live brickwork of the façades resembling pine bark and vertical space inside, which connects
the floors and changes its atmosphere with the weather and daylight conditions.

Two detached houses consist of rectangular blocks placed on top of each other like overlapping matchboxes. The lower floors settled in different directions than the upper floors in order to have both sunny outdoor areas and the best possible views even to the nearby sea. Old stone fences, rocks, and pines were spared to give the site a temporal perspective. The buildings were to be rooted in the rocky forest-like setting. Facade brickwork is randomly live, resembling pine bark.

The floors are joined by an open, glass-covered space, where daylight is screened. At the heart of the buildings is a warm wood core with smaller, more private spaces inside. The buildings are heated with geothermal heat and self-sufficient ground cooling is used for cooling.

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