Villa EskerUnder construction

The site is surrounded by boreal pine forest and the terrain is characterized by a rocky ridge ascending towards north west. The plot offers stunning views of the Finnish Lake District towards south west, and the concept of the design focuses on enjoying these views while respecting the presence of nature.

All main activities are arranged on the south western side, with wide openings towards the lake landscape. In order to avoid tall building volume, the building mass is broken up into a series of steps, ascending the ridge. The presence of the surrounding nature is further enhanced by making the building volumes smaller by separating the facilities for parking, workshops and sauna from the main building, and by arranging these buildings organically along the ridge line.

While generous lake views dominate the master bedroom, living room, dining area and the panorama terrace in the main building, the presence of the lake itself and the related activities can be enjoyed at ease from the sauna facilities by the shoreline.

All buildings are built out of wood. Structures free of vapour barrier are used throughout the buildings - apart from the bathing and sauna facilities – for the benefit of wellbeing. This way advantage is taken of the hygroscopic qualities of wood structure and wood-based insulation, and their ability to balance the diurnal and seasonal variations of humidity and temperature levels in the interiors.

As the grand openings face southwestern direction, it was seen important to prevent too much direct sunlight from penetrating the interiors and causing heat peak in the evenings. For this reason, roofing geometry was designed with an extensive overhang, which blocks direct sunlight yet allows indirect and reflected sunlight into the interiors. Need for energy consuming cooling systems and view blocking blinds are thus avoided.

Energy that is needed for heating and operational usage is mainly generated by the ground heat system installed on site, and the solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of the main building.