visiondivision: villa village

‘villa village’ by visiondivision, tampere, finland image © visiondivision

upon getting to know a family who wanted an extension to their 1970’s house by the lake in tampere, swedish firm visiondivision did not design one extension but rather a series of them to create a micro-village. the clients work from home, running from one side to another in a scramble, communicating through the internet as if in different parts of a city; this prompted the design for a literal interpretation to create many wood-clad extensions consisting of various typologies. the dwelling is built with an unusual sustainable strategy. as the ensemble is to resemble a small town, the architecture is comprised of several small prefabricated timber sheds. each small unit is cheap, as little as 2000 euros for a 15 square-meter hut, and can be easily modified and configured to fit within a greater whole. the other advantage is that the entire home can be built in pieces at the clients’ desire or economic capability.

image © visiondivision

a central promenade like a city plaza fills all the surrounding mini-structures with plenty of light as it provides a common area for ‘community’ gatherings. some of the components are oriented towards the lake, while others are lost amongst the forest trees, embracing a more introverted character. a new living room, built on the flat roof of the existing dwelling connects the downstairs to the upstairs cottages. every piece of the residence is connected either through interior stairwells or exterior pathways, with the possibility for addition or subtraction. this also gives each individual component it’s own privacy for each function, be it a quiet office or guest house.

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