Huttunen-Lipasti-Pakkanen Architects - Villa Mecklin

Summer Camp - Villa Mecklin looks like the perfect weekend retreat. A stylish, minimalist interior being all you need to really detach yourself from work. Underfloor heating is taken to a new level here with a sunken fire pit! Strong south orientation for solar gain and a wood burning stove - winter or summer it's another great escape.

Overview

Villa Mecklin is located in the Finnish archipelago. It sits in a small depression in the rocks, its sheltered terrace extending over the summit of the rock. In connection with the shoreline sauna, there is also a stove-heated cabin for guests.

The building materials selected for Villa Mecklin are uncontrived, basic ones suited for the archipelago. All wood surfaces have been left untreated and will turn grey naturally.

The Villa was built in 2008. The floor area of the villa is 70m2 and the sauna is 20m2.

Although angular in lines and form, the cabin's extended outer walls provide the deck with what could be described as a comforting embrace. Doubling functionally as wind breaks and storage, the also no doubt afford some privacy to the owners from passing boats.


With an open plan living, kitchen dining area fronting on to the extended deck, the living area is trebled. Short stilts support the deck and house - flattening the rocky terrain to create a very usable entertaining space.

In contrast, the sleeping areas follow their function arranged at the cooler northern end of the building with minimal glazing, aiding in regulating the winter and summer temperatures.


Gracefully greying, the timber exterior blends into its surroundings. - This will be a holiday home that's enjoyed for many years to come!

Plan

Salt Spring Island Cabin - Olson Kundig Architects

Bachelors Retreat - Tom continues his streak of wining cabin designs, Chicken Point, Tye River and now the Salt Spring Cabin. Minimalism, with a true Masculine feel to it. Solid RSJ girders forming the framework, and a heavy duty shutter mean this vacation box is locked up tight during the week.

Overview

Set on an island north of the San Juans, the exterior metal skin of this single room cabin will be allowed to weather naturally. Inside, wood-finished surfaces create a cozy refuge. A large, weathered steel panel slides across a window wall, securing the space when the owner is away. Tom Kundig

The cabin is harking me back to the simple lines and robust functionality I love. My realm of modern architecture.

Historically, the British Columbia cabin vernacular took materials in their raw state and moved little from them - stained log cabins, with barely the bark removed and flagstone bases.

The Salt Spring Cabin is in the same vein, but it takes raw construction materials and leverage their textures and durability. Usually (don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see the current Cortens binge) we'd see paint over the RSJs or a stain or three on the ply indoors, thankfully not in this case. Bravo to the client, who no doubt sought Tom out from precedence.

A singular structure, south facing, with great thermal mass, mean that the pot belly wood fire (I think its one of these) may not get much use in summer. The left and right doors to the rear though should provide good cross ventilation in summer, as with the front window when not shuttered up.
Winning a recent Residential Architect award the Judges described that fantastic door thus:

"The panel —operated by hand like a barn door— is commodity steel pulled off a stack before fabrication. Kundig, FAIA, let the lettering stand as “an authentic mark of its history and in the spirit of allowing materials to age naturally with no ‘protective’ coating that needs maintenance."

I'm off to see what other forest retreats are out there.....

Plan

Photographer: Tim Bies