Our task was to make the property suitable for everyday life, while letting nature take the lead. We had to preserve the existing forest, restore the damaged areas and add appropriate plants from similar climatic regions, such as the Karelian peninsula. We were also tasked with enhancing views from the windows to achieve artistic perfection.

We also wanted to find space for a contemporary garden to provide a contrast with the natural environment, allowing the minimalist architecture, natural scenery and landscape design to meld into a harmonious whole.

The driveway to the house cuts through a forested area and crosses a weathering steel bridge as it approaches the main façade. Clad in sage green ceramic, the façade blends in with the colour of the forest and the vertical lines resonate with the upward momentum of the pine trunks.

The bedroom windows also overlook the forest with views of white birch trunks and the bushy branches of pines and fir trees. With moss, forest plants, needles and pine cones, the forest appears to be nestled up against the building.

We had to place a simple but eye-catching plant near the house façade – something with an overall sense of nature but also schematic and resonant with the clear lines of the architecture. It proved the perfect setting for a small hawthorn tree with a crown of about 4.5 m and branches that spread out sideways.

To the left of the gallery, in the covered space between the buildings, sit picturesque natural rooms with hillocks covered in mosses and ferns, and a little granite path running through. Because of the roof and absence of any natural precipitation, a sprinkler and misting irrigation system were essential.