Extreme housing – Living Steel

Extreme housing – Living Steel

Living steel was an International invited Architecture Competition for Sustainable Housing, which presented architects with the task of creating energy efficient, single-family, detached housing that minimises climate change emissions and can withstand temperature extremes, yet is affordable to build and to buy.

The prefabricated circular form was conceived to create a high-level of air tightness. The design was also inspired by traditional Russian houses which are often heavily ornamented, bordered by fences and includes kitchen gardens.

The doughnut-shaped house has been designed with an outer ring. This ring includes parking for one car, a kitchen garden (planting of vegetables), a greenhouse, as well as generous storage areas. As the perimeter of the house is made from a semi-transparent layer of steel, there’s a strong connection to the site. To provide thermal insulation, The insulations are made with eco-wool sandwich panels. While the greenhouse and kitchen garden can be enjoyed from the kitchen and living areas, they can also be appreciated from the bedrooms.

The three housing models vary in size from 120 square metres to 150 square metres. In each model the bedrooms are located on the first floor, in the centre of the doughnut. To create another protective layer against the cold weather, the architects designed a ‘snow fence’ around each home. This fence, made of steel mesh, allows winds to cool the house during summer. In winter, snow builds up within the mesh to form an additional blanket.

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Our work includes developing, studying and producing architectural projects that answer the client’s needs in a unique, cost-efficient, rational and aesthetically pleasing synthesis.

The design process consists of analysing the special features of each site and program. Our Architecture grows from hard work and a high level of commitment. We believe that the only way to build sustainable cities and buildings is to use real solid materials, solve all the functions in a flawless way and give every space and building its own unique appearance – a soul.

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Huttunen-Lipasti Architects  Ltd 
Lönnrotinkatu 18 A
00120 Helsinki, Finland
+358 9 694 7724, mailh-lfi

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