Reform House

Competition Proposal (honorary mention), 2018

Frans Saraste, Lars-Erik Mattila.

The Reform House proposes a solid wood apartment building based on permanent environmental conditions. It is designed to harnesses the permanent forces of nature - sunlight, gravity, wind and rain - and its building materials are carefully selected. The life cycle of this easy-to-maintain house is not designed to be finite. Balcony design prevents overheating during the summer. During the heating season, passive solar energy is harnessed. Each apartment is naturally ventilated. All living rooms all rooms are supplied with fresh air from the outside and each room has a direct exhaust duct to the roof. The house is elevated on top of masonry walls throughout, preventing capillary water from rising. At the same time, it ensures long-lasting and maintainable subfloor structures and provides sufficient water absorption capacity. By design, there is nothing complex or unpredictable about the structural engineering and materials in the Reform House. And it is precisely for this reason that it can be modified safely and at an affordable price.