Residential settlement at Laze

The settlement is an arrangement of empty and filled spaces, where the whole is more significant than its component parts. The structure is modular and features similar elements with repetitions, variations and amendments. Rather than defining the buildings and interiors, the driveways and entrances only accompany them, as the cardinal directions provide the basis for creating the daily rhythm in the buildings and their surroundings. The houses are of two types: either the classic compact house with a gabled roof and asymmetrically designed volume, or the courtyard house, which can be detached or semi-detached with a flat, partly accessible roof. The L-layout has two basic volume variations, which are presented with two different façade finishings:  white plaster and alternate curtain walls from vertical, naturally processed larch boards. The third prominent element is the anthracite grey corrugated tin façade, which accentuates the volume when it touches the wooden or plaster façade together with the openings. Courtyard houses are designed as individual units or as asymmetric combinations of two units creating a new whole. On the border with the neighbouring unit, the courtyards have a full wall, which creates an intimate exterior area as an extension of the living room.