Four-Cornered Villa in Finland by Avanto Architects

A black timber-clad cabin is set on a horseshoe-shaped island on Lake Vaskievsi near Virrat, Finland; this is Four-Cornered Villa an architecturally significant structure designed by Villa Hara and Anu Puustinen of Avanto Architects. The unusual floor plan, a cross-shaped layout with four distinct wings extending outwards from a central room, gives the interior space a continuous yet channeled flow. Remarkably, Four-Cornered Villa has a floor area of just 78m² but the light minimalist interior, coupled with full-wall windows at each aperture, certainly make it feel more spacious.

There’s no running water at Four-Cornered Villa (Vaskivesi Lake is 20m away), and no central heating (there are two wood burning stoves). Electricity is provided via solar cells but Four-Cornered Villa is really intended to be a wilderness retreat. The architects describe the experience of living in the dwelling as ascetic, but more from a standpoint of eco-friendliness and escaping hectic city environments, rather than a life of self-discipline and piety.

Four-Cornered Villa is the work of Ville Hara and Anu Puustinen, Hara having been the co-creator of another idyllic Finnish dwelling we’ve featured on Homeli recently: Greenhouse Shed. The architects at Avanto designed this building to serve as their own holiday-residence and it was completed on a budget of just €150,000; a remarkable feat but no doubt aided in part by the somewhat primitive utilities.