Land+Living: Finland Summer house

Architecture — January 11, 2005 Posted by James

A modern wood cabin in the forest

This "young firm" based is Bergen, Norway is producing some interesting work that is both experimental and ecologically responsible.

For this summer house, the architects have conceived a wood structure defined by a continuous, folded plane forming interior and exterior spaces.

Firm: Saunders & Wilhelmsen Architecture

UPDATE: Mr. Saunders and Mr. Wilhelmsen have now moved on to individual practices.
Link: Saunders Architecture
Link: Wilhelmsen Arkitektur

The firm is headed by Canadian Todd Saunders and Norwegian Tommie Wilhelmsen.

We have an ambition to create architecture that is in relation to landscape/place and at the same unique and experimental.

33 comments

Comments (33)

William Swinson — January 12, 2005
Nice but concerned about roof

this is a terrific looking building - one that would look amazing in the Canadian landscape as well - but wouldn't a flat roof pose problems with the weight of snow in a Northern climate? I love flat roofs but there seems to be a reason why our homes use the traditional roof (even though they aren't made as well as they should be).

John Banks — January 12, 2005
William has a point

Here in Canada a flat roof would not be the best plan for the Canadian climate during the winter. I would fear the snow piling up and the roof caving in. But the house is beautiful, if I do say so.

James — January 12, 2005
Pile it on

Snow loads are a legitimate concern, however unless a pitched roof is fairly steep (or has a metal roof), the snow just tends to sit there anyway. My personal experience in the Tahoe area (which has a very high "snow load" rating... you may have heard that 13 feet of snow fell in the last 15 days there) is that a flat roof can be built as well as a pitched roof... it just needs to be engineered and, as importantly, water proofed properly. I've had to shovel my pitched roof! :-)

hijiki — January 14, 2005
form follows function

there are reasons the gabled roof is the traditional form in northern climates. the farther north, the steeper the pitch. this evolved over centuries when function and practicality were always paramount. modernism scrapped it in the name of ridding itself of 'tradition'. but form still follows function and nature doesn't care about human concepts.

James — January 17, 2005
Form can kill a person

Sloped roofs don't care about human life, and at least a human concept (sloping the roof away from the front door, using a properly engineered flat roof, etc.) can prevent snow from sliding off a roof and burying a person alive. http://tinyurl.com/3bfqgf (TahoeDaily.com) It happens.

hijiki — January 17, 2005
indeed, form kills

haha... of course you should put the entrance and deck on the peaked side or under the overhang. in the north, with freezing and thawing cycles, flat roofs inevitably leak and they risk collapse since the loads aren't transfered to the walls as efficiently. you'll avoid headaches if you design your house to accomodate nature... therefore, understanding how nature works is helpful or else you run the risk of receiving a darwin award.

James — January 17, 2005
Tradition by way of innovation

The same ingenuity that led to the 'tradition' of pitched roofs gave birth to modern engineering. These days any roof (flat or pitched) must adhere to safety and structural codes. True that a flat roof requires larger and/or more structural members than a pitched roof, but then again a steeply pitched roof created more surface area and taller end walls. Flat roofs do have a "reputation" to leak, yet pitched roofs are prone to ice dams which inevitably form with the freezing and thawing cycles causing leaking as well. With today's methods and technologies there are remedies both problems. Tit for tat, push and pull, yin and yang, this and that, yadda yadda yadda... you say tomay-toh I say tomah-toh. I believe in tradition AND innovation... designing with nature (see post from 1/8/04) and pushing the envelope at the same time.

hijiki — January 18, 2005
no tomatoes

don't get me wrong, i'm not arguing against ingenuity or engineering (i do, afterall, visit this site regularly). i too love modernism... except for that misguided presumption to have conquered nature. while attractive for the appropriate environment, flat roofs do indeed require more material (both to support the structure itself and to thwart leaking while providing no additional living space) and they have earned that reputation for leaking. yes, pitched roofs will leak because of ice dams if they are poorly constructed but that is very cheap and easy to avoid by even the most novice builder (employing modern engineering and traditional wisdom). my point is that from that fabled ivory tower, modernism tossed out what centuries have taught us with absolutely no benefit but a tidy concept to apply to every situation regardless of the local nature. it's the perfect example of human arrogance. when i drive through the vermont countryside and see 20-year-old flat-roofed homes that are in a state of decay and 200-year-old-pitched roof homes that will easily take another century, i honestly can't see it as anything but overly simplistic to suggest the flat roof debate is one of tomaytoh-tomahtohs.

hijiki — January 18, 2005
i just read my own post...

i really don't mean to be harshing on modernism. i'm just talking about the most intelligent design solution for a given problem.

James — January 18, 2005
All produce aside

The thing here, which I think I have been taking for granted in all of this discussion, is that the flat roof actually foes function in this case! The house is a "summer house" and the roof is used as exterior living space... a roof top deck. The roof deck not only is an efficient use of land/space, but also provides a vantage point to admire the view. Thanks for all of the discussion, hijiki! I must admit that I wanted to encourage some dialogue with my responses. Thanks for playing! You have some great points, and all well taken and appreciated. :-)

todd saunders — January 28, 2005
new web page

Thanks for posting our project and I love reading the comments. Always nice to hear how people interpret my buildings. You can now look at my new web page www.saunders.no to see other projects if you like. Greetings from Norway. Todd Saunders

James — January 28, 2005
Thanks for the update

Hi Todd! Thanks for dropping by Land+Living, we love your work. We have updated the post to include your new website. Cheers!

Kim Vallee — February 21, 2005
A flat roof is not a problem in Canada

I want to build a modern cottage with a flat roof in Quebec. I plan to use the cottage rarely during winter. So I was worry. My architect assures me that today we are able to build a flat-roof house that will sustain Quebec harsh winters. When you build it, you take into account how much snow the roof will have to support and build accordingly. All around Montreal, we have sloped roofs. We need to heat the edges or remove the snow at least once during the winter because some ice is forming and it is dangerous to pedestrians. Sloped roofs are not maintenance free. Do not let the past dictates what you want. With today's know-how everything is possible. So Canadians and other Northern climates residents do not restrict yourself: Build the house of your dreams, not what traditions or unjustified fears dictated.

dee hoffman — March 21, 2005
California needs you!

What a gorgeous home! No problems with snow and a flat roof in my beach area and the roof is perfect for a party, sun bathing or just spying on the neighbors. With the price of land here one could put two dwellings on a lot, if so zoned, and rent one out. We also have little rental housing and what there is is pricy. SOO...come build with us in California.

Bill Bowen — May 13, 2005
Just understand the parameters

I have lived/worked in both climates. Flat roof or pitched, it is all about understanding the parameters. A flat roof in snow country means more structure = more cost. It is good to push, but know when you are pushing and account for it. The collasp of some of the flat roofs in Denver a couple of years ago remind us to use pitch where appropriate. It is more difficult to get the thin modern california roof edge in a snow zone. The steep pitch offer passive way to get snow off the roof. The ice problems happen happen at overhangs and because of sun melt. Modern technology has helped cure this, but doesn't stop someone from orienting the roof to dump on pedestrians. Flat roofs just become more pitched (more shed than flat) in snow country.

garron — July 21, 2005
i like this look

please direct me to more of this flat roof design concept garron@hotmail.com

Todd Saunders — August 10, 2005
web address link is wrong

Hi, Some people have contacted me saying that the link on your page that links to mine www.saunders.no is incorrect. Can you fix it? Todd Saunders

Anthony — August 10, 2005
Fixed

Thanks Todd!

peter guinane — August 31, 2005
in fact, flat can be better

I love this design, and can attest to many examples of successful flat roofs. I would go one step further and add an extensive green roof, which will prolong the life of the membraine, some flat roofs outlast traditional construction when built properly. I agree with my countryman from Quebec - go for it!

miranda cheevers — September 10, 2005
flat roof ok

we lived in a ultra modern flat roofed house in finland designed by a famous finnish archtect of the time and it posed no problems other than that it looked so damm good.

sandra — October 27, 2005
terrible

terrible looking, terrible everything...looking cheep and unsafe...also unconvenient!

mwahuro patrick — October 28, 2005
question

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING AVERY SLOPING ROOF(PITCHED UP TO 80DEGREES)

TA Solo — May 4, 2006
I am building

I am currently adding appx 1100 sq feet to my home.. a rectangle 28x38 feet.. FLAT roof with deck above it. From what i understand the deck should "float" above the roof.. altho, I would like the profile to be as low as possible. I was after a rubber system.. not sure it is the best option..let it be known that if the roof leaks, my wife wil leave me.

inverlogic@yahoo.es — September 2, 2006

ruego me faciliten informacion sobre fabricante de estas casas. garcias.

David — January 22, 2007
Looks Great but have concerns

I am buliding a cottage on Marthas Vinyard and this would be perfect but I am not convinced a flat roof will handle the snow effectively. I wonder what the floor plan(SQ Ft. ETC) is of this cottage

Gisela — January 26, 2007
Architecture at any cost

I'm from Argentina, so excuse me if I have a lot of gramatic mistakes. I think arquitecture must be the most important aspect in any proyect, technology bring us solution for almost any design, so I say work with any shapes you want, the solution already exists! I'm talking in the cases you have a flexible budget

Jeff — February 25, 2007
Ha!

sure go ahead, it's in the engineering! (Thats what they said about dryvit panels.) Besides, plenty of homes have flat roofs; they're called trailers(they even have huge parks where you can see how great flat roofs are.) They're great from a sales aspect as well. So go ahead be the only one on the block with a flat roof, your neighbors will love you.

barbar@iol.pt — April 13, 2007

please direct me to more of this flat roof design concept

Skúli Jóhannesson — July 5, 2007
www.tk@tk.is

I am lookin for beatiful summerhouse,( like to bild it in Iceland, ca, 60 m2 ) can you send to my som photos, ore drow ? my addr, is : Skúli Jóhannesson, - Vesturfold 23, 112 Reykjavík, Iceland. - I lok forward to your replay, best regards, Skúli.

Mwahuro Patrick Bsc.Constn Mgt — September 3, 2007
Site Management Practices

It is really appauling to have poor site management practices and yet we 've our own trained professionals.

Helena — April 3, 2008

"we lived in a ultra modern flat roofed house in finland designed by a famous finnish archtect." Can you give me the name of architect? I dream to build a house in Finland (of course with flat roof), the problem is that all their web-sites are in Finnish language, so I can't find any information.

Kriss — May 4, 2008
Beautiful

I want to move to buy a small vacation home, somewhere in Finland,Germany, Iceland. I need a good real estate agency, if anyone could point me to one. Decent prices. This is a great home, btw!

Sudarshan — May 26, 2009
Flat roofs make sense with with RCC

What has not been pointed out in the post and comments is that flat roofs make a lot of sense when built with RCC (Reinforced Concrete) supported by RCC pillars. The walls can be built with bricks. India has some of the best RCC constructions in cities like Bangalore and while the construction methods may be primitive, the finished product is great. Low maintainence and long life - 200 years?