Honka to deliver residential house for champion biathlete Kaisa Mäkäräinen
Press release 22.3.2016
Finnish biathlon world championship medallist Kaisa Mäkäräinen has chosen to rely on Honkarakenne Plc for her new home. Honka will deliver a detached log house constructed according to the certified Healthy House concept and providing superb conditions for relaxation and for the active daily life of this world-class athlete. The house will be built in Eastern Finland on a plot donated by the City of Joensuu in spring 2011.
“We are honoured to have this opportunity to work with Kaisa by providing optimal conditions for healthy living and everyday well-being. After studying our range, Kaisa selected a modern Honka Pino detached house with spacious and serene architecture favouring a relaxing home life,” explains Marko Saarelainen, CEO of Honkarakenne Plc.
Kaisa Mäkäräinen’s log house will be constructed according to the Honka Healthy House concept. This was developed jointly with the Finnish Allergy and Asthma Federation and remains the only one of its kind to be certified by the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). Honka Healthy House satisfies strict standards governing such aspects as indoor air purity, low-emission materials, moisture safety and building technology. The concept is ideal for all health-conscious residents, and is particularly beneficial to allergy and asthma sufferers when indoor air quality is crucial for leading a normal life.
“I think that Honkarakenne is a Finnish pioneer and pacesetter in its field in much the same way as any of our world-class athletes, and I particularly appreciate the company’s sustained efforts to promote healthy living and well-being. Staying healthy and enjoying good indoor air quality were naturally crucial factors for me when selecting a builder, and solid timber was the obvious building material of choice right from the start for someone who grew up in the vast expanse of Finland’s public forests of Metsähallitus,” Kaisa Mäkäräinen explains.
The new detached house will apply the Honka Fusionä concept based on non-settling timber combined with a new zero-corner technology enabling modern architectural solutions that are particularly suited to an urban setting. The non-settling timber frame is compatible with a wide range of ancillary building materials, including steel, large glass surfaces and stone. Kaisa Mäkäräinen’s house will accordingly feature large windows, with special materials such as Ristijärvi granite from the owner’s original home district and modern plywood panelling enhancing the solid timber walls.
“It was only after talking to Honka that I began to work out what I really needed. I was impressed with the Pino model that we used with the Honka design team as the basis for customising our ideal home. The specialists from Honka were fully familiar with the aspirations of young adult homeowners and how these aspects can be harmonised with the demanding daily life of a top athlete. The design process has been plain sailing, and it has been wonderful to see how the Honka design service took care of everything for me, even though I was away for much of the time at training and competition events,” Kaisa Mäkäräinen says.
Construction of the new detached house is scheduled to begin in spring 2016 with a view to completion before the end of the year. The project will be supervised by Antti Matikainen of the specialist timber construction design firm Timber Bros.
House areas:
Floor space: 163.5 m2 + 23 m2 storage/technical area = 186.5 m2
Net floor area: 152 m2 + 19 m2 storage/technical area = 171 m2
Building volume 620 m3
For further details please contact:
Joonas Rantala, Marketing Manager, Honkarakenne, tel. +358 40 588 1263, joonas.rantala@honka.com
Kaisa Mäkäräinen Public Relations, Harri Halme, tel. +358 40 754 5104, harri.halme@welho.com