Harri Hautajärvi : Villas & saunas in Finland

Unhurried holidays amidst nature and sitting in the shoreline sauna have become significant parts of the Finnish lifestyle and identity. There are more holiday homes per capita in Finland than anywhere else in the world.

The new, extented edition of Villa & Saunas in Finland presents 31 summer residences and 17 saunas, on sites ranging from the archipelago to the Finnish lake district and the fells in the north. The 48 uniquely designed buildings represent the best in Finnish holiday home and sauna architecture in recent years. The buildings differ from each another in interesting ways, from small log cabins to luxury villas and modern smoke saunas. Each project is presented in detail, through photographs, drawings and texts written by the architects themselves.

The selection of buildings in the book has been made by architect Harri Hautajärvi. In his two accompanying articles he discusses the history of Finnish summer villa architecture and way of life spent in the villas, as well as the sauna culture and sustainable building. The book also presents several practical examples of energy saving and low-emission solutions in holiday home construction.

Villa & Saunas in intended for everyone interested in summer villas, cottages and saunas, for their owners, for those who dream of owning one as well as designers and students in the building sector.

The first edition of Villas & Saunas was a long list nominee for the Sir Nikolaus Pevsner RIBA International Book Award for Architecture 2007.