Finn architecture firm ORTRAUM Architects has completed a small wooden family house located on the Jollas Peninsula - east of the Helsinki city centre. The 230-square-metre house was built for one of the partners of the office and his family of five. 

Named MK5, the house is placed on a south-west sloping 500-square-metre site and the design scheme follows "a central kink" in plan, which is one of Finnish architecture traditions for traditional houses. This kind of tradition avoids a direct view towards the neighbours, and leads the main spaces to face the ocean towards the west. 

The building's relationship to the natural surroundings is provided with the diverse placement of the windows, framing the changing views and daylight qualities in each direction. 

Following an open-plan in the layout, living room is accessed from the north and located on the ground floor, sauna functions and building services are placed in the basement. 

The architects place four bedrooms in the second floor. The geometric layout of the plan accumulates on the mezzanine level, where the three children’s rooms and the master bedroom connect in the centre point of the building, allowing for multiple consultation options before bedtime.

The studio uses highly customised CLT (cross laminated timber) elements on the structure of MK5. In addition to the building’s electrical system, the ventilation system and lighting fixtures are fully integrated into the CLT elements. 

Using Siberian Larch timber for the façade, the same material is also used for flooring and other furnitures in the interior of the house. Custom fabricated copper parts frame the windows. 

"The façade materials are chosen to allow the building to patinate naturally and age gracefully with time.  On the south side of the building vertical wires are stretched from the building eaves to the terrace deck below, designed for hops climbers to grow to create a 'green screen', providing an extra curtain of privacy from the road," said the architects.

ORTRAUM Architects focus in their practice on working thoroughly with the client and the context, always with the aim of creating a unique solution for each of their customers. 

In addition to this personal engagement ORTRAUM also pursues a strong research approach in each project, specializing in the development of new prefabricated element typologies, and stretching the possibilities of element design.

Project facts

Address: Mesaanikuja 5a, 00850 Helsinki, Finland

Building size: 230m2 (gross)

Completion: October 2017

Project team and material partners:

Architecture: Martin Lukasczyk, ORTRAUM Architects

Structure design: Asko Keronen

HVAC design: Harri Ripatti, Leino Kuuluvainen

CLT structures: KLH Massivholz Gmbh, SPAX Gmbh

Element research partner and insulation material partner: Paroc Oy/ Jukka Sevon

Roofing material partner: Rheinzink Gmbh, Kruunukatto Oy, Sara-Steel Oy

Carpentry: Heikki Aska, Emmahus Oy, Ilmar Koppel

Lighting design: Esa Pietilä/ Prototype Oy, Oliver Walter

Building automation: Houmio Oy, Kalle Tuominiemi

Larch timber: CSW-Design Oy

Windows: Klas1-yhtiöt Oy, Tiivituote Oy, Velux Suomi Oy

Copper: Aurubis Finland Oy, Tapwell Oy

Flooring: Timberwise Oy, Romanoff Oy, Hunton Oy

Heating: Roth Werke Gmbh, Oilon Oy

Furniture: Oy Skanno Ab, Nikari Oy, A.S. Helsingö Oy, Louhi Kivitasot Oy

Colour: OSMO Holz und Color Gmbh

All images © Marc Goodwin/ Archmospheres, Martin Lukasczyk/ ORTRAUM Oy

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