This block, located on the west bank of the Porvoo River and situated in the cultural landscape known to all Finns, represents a modern, high-density and small-scale style of building of wooden towns.
This block is divided into two housing associations that are connected by a parking lot stretching from east to west. The stone carports divide the block into fire-safe areas. The buildings are two stories high and range from row houses and duplexes to detached houses.
Both creating private, semi-private and public spaces and placing the houses so that the Porvoo River was visible, while protecting the residences from being directly visible, provided this project with its design challenge. The living spaces face south and west. The living room, the kitchen and the main terrace are located on the second floor. The yards of the residences are connected to the saunas and fireplace rooms. On the river side, the houses contain studios on ground level.
Long eaves, façades made of thick boards, traditional Finnish cooked paint and high plinths were all absorbed from the old ways of building. Modern technology is represented by the pre-cut system. The lumber supplier made a model of every building and its wooden parts and then delivered the lumber to the construction site cut to size and marked.
The thick boards used in the exterior cladding were painted in the traditional Finnish style with cooked paint or oil paint and the prefab plywood parts were varnished. The wood cladding was complemented by steel and glass canopies and steel stairs inside, which are reminiscent of the Porvoo yawls used to haul sand. The block is enclosed by a wood fence; this fence’s opening and gates reveal varying views and spaces. The general atmosphere of the block is a modernly traditional, fragrant wood.