FROM WOOD TO ARCHITECTURE |
Misteli Day-care Centre
Vantaa, Finland, 1996
Design: Mikko Kaira
, in Vantaa's Ruskeasanta low-rise housing area, was completed early on in the renaissance of timber building, in 1997, The solemnity characterising the contemporary architectural idiom of day-care centres was softened here to achieve a more private and homely atmosphere. Timber seemed to provide the best opportunity for this. The simple basic form and living timber surface link the building with the best traditions of Finnish timber construction. The model for the carpentry and joinery was the skilfully and practically made traditional wooden box used as a measuring receptacle for potatoes, known as "kappa" in Finnish.
The exterior walls are assembled of solid, hewn logs. The log surfaces extend up to the level of the eaves, hiding the actual shape of the pitched roof, which is revealed only on the inside, The interior walls are also built of logs. The corner joints have been made simply by sawing notches at the ends and stacking them, as the traditional dovetailed joints could not be executed at a reasonable cost.
The wooden surfaces have been treated with natural materials, a mixture of pine tar and linseed oil. The notion was that in the course of time the building could be compared to an old rowing boat from the Savo region, which after repeated tarring every spring, has become nearly black, a water-resistant example of craftsmanship emitting a strong scent in the scorching sun.
Photos: Matti Karjanoja