Private House in Merivälja

This building with three floors is situated on a slightly sloped lot facing the sea, the southern sun and views of the city across the bay of Tallinn. The rare qualities of the site inform the general spatial organisation of the building. It is a simple one sided scheme – all rooms open toward the sun and the bay. 

The recessed Ground floor is made as an in situ concrete block that continues as the concrete supporting walls of the partially recessed garden. It also forms the concrete floor of dining and living areas above. The Ground floor contains a sauna and a private gym, which open into the garden. The First floor living and dining rooms along with the kitchen double as a terrace that also opens into the garden. The two upper floors are supported by steel construction and covered with dark plywood to make the house look like a piece of furniture.

The same dark plywood is also used in the interior finishing of the First floor to stress its connectedness to the exterior. The Second floor bedrooms of children are separated from those of the parents by a private patio, a cosy windless terrace used only by the family. The bright white feel of the Second floor contrasts the dark living quarters oriented toward the exterior. The interiors of each floor are conceived as a succession of different atmospheres, which change as one moves vertically through the building.