Villa on Matka Road

This residence located in Mähe district of Tallinn is characterised by simple geometric volumes, separation of the residential building and the garage, structural use of wood on the exterior as well as interior finishes, natural materials and a general impression of warmth created by the orange wooden cladding. However, there are also significant differences. The house is planted on a very small lot in the suburb surrounded by densely-packed, standardised gable-roofed houses built in the 1950s. The newcomer was an invader in an already developed environment, so the design of the modern house had to be softened somewhat to make it fit in with its more conservative neighbours.

The two main solutions used to achieve this were placing the garage unit onto the edge of the street creating an intimate buffer in front of the entrance and partitioning the unusually large volume for the surroundings into an S-shape to create a small, sheltered courtyard in the middle of the house. The wooden plank fence that surrounds the house is also well-suited into the composition. Among the usual compulsory spaces for a dwelling, one unique area inside the house is the work and practice room for the family of musicians living there, which can accommodate two grand pianos side by side. This calm Nordic-style residence vividly demonstrates how high-quality architecture can be achieved in both form and execution on a limited budget.

The project received an award at the Wooden Building of the Year awards of 2004. Architect Veljo Kaasik, the chairman of the jury remarked: “The residence shows how results can be achieved skilfully within a framework of restrained volumes and pragmatic requirements outlined by the client, specifically in order to satisfy the informed owners’ own inner needs.”