Wooden village within a city

The current megatrend of living is based on well-being and sustainability. Human well-being is closely connected to nature and communities. We need both: the calming presence of nature – sceneries with living trees, plants and water – and interaction with other people. A good example of a residential wooden village within a city is Myllypuron Tara, today the home of some 2000 residents in Helsinki, Finland.

Representing a new type of townhouse construction in Finland, the buildings also cherish Finnish wood construction traditions in an enchanting way. This modern massive-wood urban terraced house block was completed in August 2012 in Helsinki’s Myllypuro wooden house district, home to some 2,000 residents. The block was a project by a developer group formed by shareholders in the Tara housing company.

Built on both two and three levels, the sizes of Honka homes vary between 50 and 150 m². There are 13 dwellings in terraced and connected separate houses, with six different floor plans. Hannu Lehto from Liark Oy was in charge of the architectural design of Honka homes with their simple facades, suitable for a compact urban environment. Tara’s massive-wood urban homes have been built using Honka’s energy-efficient layered wall structures. Myllypuron Tara, the massive-wood house block manufactured by Honka, was highly commended in the 2012 Log House of the Year competition in Finland.

The Myllypuron Tara buildings are a new creative example of how logs can be utilised in a modern and compact urban environment. (...) The setting of the buildings in sloping terrain, their rythm, proportions and openings have been competently carried out.

The panel of judges of the Log house of the Year 2012

• Project type: Residential area
• Number of houses: The area has 2 duplex Honka house, 3 attached Honka houses
• Apartments: 15 apartments
• Floor area: 150 m² to 450 m²
• Architect: Hannu Lehto
• Wall structure: Square log, 112 mm + Insulation 240 mm, wooden fiber
• Building year: 2011
• Location: Helsinki, Finland