Urban Summer Cabin

2012
Kivinokka, Helsinki, Finland

The 11 m2 cottage includes a small kitchen with a wood-burning stove, a sitting area and a sleeping loft. The storage room has space for hammocks, fishing gear, a gas bottle and other necessities. The presence of nature, also inside, is an essential feature of this house, which you can walk through. Windows on all the walls also bring the outside in. You can even get a glimpse of the sea from the small window in the loft. The shutters on the windows and the doors are closed for the winter.

The materials are ordinary and easily available: standard construction timber and conifer plywood. The roof is made of single-layer bitumen felt. The kitchen door and the windows are old. The door frames, corner windows and double doors were made by a carpenter. The client family built the foundations and the frame of the building, and the finishing work and fittings were done by architects.

Kivinokka is a traditional working class summer retreat situated in Kulosaari, Helsinki. Today there are roughly 800 small summer cabins in the area.

Designed by
Mattila & Merz

Built by
Family Anttila
Mattila & Merz

Windows and doors manufactured by
Hannu Raatikainen

Photos by
Kaapo Kamu
Laura Mattila