Four-cornered villa | Avanto Architects Ltd

The site is situated on a horse shoe shaped island and faces north and east. The cross like shape of this simple villa reaches towards four very different views. There is no one and only direction on the site as usually but you can see lake in three directions and you have a nice forest view to the west. You get morning light in the breakfast table, midday on dining room and evening on sitting room. There is no direct sunlight in the bedroom so you don’t need curtains. Terraces are covered preventing the hot summer sun overheating the building but allowing passive solar energy in in the winter. You can open the double doors to the terraces so that the limit of interior and exterior disappears. The space is open and defined at the same time. The exterior is treated all black and to contrast the interior is very light. Dark color makes the building disappear totally when seen from the lake. The roof is flat – there is some warm irony to the clichés of modern architecture. Basic idea is to provide example of sustainable cottage in contrast to normal Finnish cottages that are heated all year round with electricity to prevent water pipes from freezing. The building is insulated well and heated by wood from own forest only resulting in a carbon neutral building. There is no running water and the electricity is provided by the sun. Vegetables and herbs are cultivated on site and the Vaskivesi Lake is known as a good place to catch pike-perch. The simple and ascetic life at the countryside differs dramatically from the hectic city life and provides a possibility to live a life with a minimum impact to the nature.