Dubbed 'the boat' a single family home on a bedrock-ridden site uses the traditional finnish notion of 'tupa' or multifunctionality to create a consolidated architecture that is a mediator between the surrounding forest and domestic life. the latest project by international practice casagrande laboratory capitalizes on the tradition of finnish carpentry and craftmanship to create a continuous chamber of space with an adaptable program. while the wooden construction is in dialogue with a gesture of black brick, the material palette both blends with and invites the forest into the home. the flexible notion of 'pirtti' or 'tupa' reframes the dwelling as a place for eating and socializing that can quickly change into a studio space or gym.
Notions of collective actions and private actions are blurred within the lightly partitioned volume, favoring bands of light that admit ribbons of glazing to act as dividers between rooms. the insulation provided by the wooden construction is supported by two fireplaces. structural support for the main structure lies in a smaller apsidal volume that acts as an outrigger. in this way, the use of maritime concepts pervades the very construction of the space; additionally, two local carpenters that specialize in ship-building fabricated the home in the manner they would a boat.
casagrande lab team: nikita wu, jan luksic, shreya nagrath, arijit sen
construction manager: bengt ?hman / lu-rakennus
master carpenters: ingolf westerholm, jens nylund
furniture design: marco casagrande
furniture prototype master: mirella peltonen
location: karjaa, finland
size: 140 m2
materials: wood, black brick