Each country has its own national characteristics of house building. In Finland, a northern country with beautiful nature, private houses are more popular than apartments. They always fit into the landscape and have their own interesting features, which will tell you about.
The most popular and widespread options for building houses in Finnish are the use of timber and frame technology . Finns widely use LVL timber, a glued material with increased strength and resistance to moisture. There is a lot of wood in the country, the production of timber is well established, and there are no problems with purchasing material for building a house.
The terrain in many regions of Finland is difficult, so houses are usually built on pile and columnar foundations. Lightweight wooden buildings do not require a strong concrete base, which reduces the cost and speeds up construction.
Finnish houses traditionally have a spacious terrace or wide porch for outdoor living and storage. The canopy is the long overhang of the gable roof, which is supported by wooden columns.
Panoramic windows are popular in modern Finnish housing construction . They are energy efficient, which is important for the harsh northern climate. Maximum sunlight is especially pleasant and beneficial for the microclimate of the house on short winter days.
Finnish houses are traditionally simple square or rectangular in shape. But there are also more interesting architectural projects – with three pediments, a protruding projection , a turret, a porch that goes around the perimeter of the house.
The texture and color of the wood on the façade is often left unpainted. To protect wood from outdoor conditions, stains, varnishes, and antiseptics are used. Glued laminated timber is impregnated with them during the production process.
A sauna is traditionally installed inside Finnish houses – it is known how Finns love to steam. It can be built separately on the site – ready-made barrel saunas are popular, but in winter it is more comfortable to use a sauna in the house.
Outdoor swimming pools are rarely installed near Finnish houses – the climate does not allow them to be used for more than a month. But heated Jacuzzis on the terrace are popular – you can lie down after the sauna while admiring nature.
Finnish houses sometimes have an analogue of an atrium – a courtyard closed on two or three sides, in which you can relax without fear of the cold wind and nosy neighbors.
Finnish architecture is simple, solid, cozy, providing comfort. There are no frills or pretentiousness, but Finnish houses look attractive and authentic.
