Kuku-Ranna Summer House

Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul

KUKU-RANNA SUMMER HOUSE

Arhitektuuribüroo Eek & Mutso

LEAD ARCHITECT 
Madis Eek

ENGINEERING
Toomas Tammerik

MANUFACTURERS
Balti Plaadikaubandus, Emotionwalls, Hansacom, Pinska, Prokliima, Raidkivi, Silman

LANDSCAPE
Margit Mutso

PHOTOGRAPHS
Toomas Tuul

AREA 
80 m²

YEAR
2020

LOCATION
Vääna-Jõesuu, Estonia

CATEGORY
Houses

Text description provided by architect.

The summer house in Vääna-Jõesuu, some 35 km from Tallinn, is like the archetype of a house – a tepee or the steep slope of a farmhouse roof in the middle of nature.

Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul

The minimalist tent-like form that was often used in cottage architecture in the area in the 1970s has been added kinetic elements turning the laconic volume into a contemporary light and airy summer house.

When not used, the house with no permanent residents remains closed and unnoticed.

Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul

The wooden façade is given a yakisugi finishing, the side elevations of the building have a marked char texture while the charred layer on the sloping surfaces has been partly washed away and thus greyish in color.

This way the house blends in with the surrounding pine tree trunks.

Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul

As the residents arrive, the shutters rise up as wings revealing a large glass wall on the main façade leading to a living area in light hues.

The open shutter will form a roof over the terrace in front of the living room.

Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul

The glass wall below the shutter opens only halfway thus allowing the terrace and the interior to form a comprehensive whole.

When open, the roof provides shelter from rain and sunlight, and when closed, it forms a practical storage space for garden furniture, while also shielding the interior from the street.

Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul

The rear shutter of the house reveals a small workshop that similarly turns into a spacious outdoor space with a roof.

A restored oval window between the workshop and living room is recovered from an Art Nouveau villa in Tallinn designed by the Finnish architect Armas Lindgren.

Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul

There are several such recycled details: side windows, corten steel kickplates, and much of the furniture.The old double bass has now become a shelf.

The otherwise gentle summer house does have its whims – it’s a good idea to keep your fingers off as both the cladding with yakisugi (burnt wood) finishing and the corten steel can stain.

Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul

There are small surprises also in the interior design with references to the surrounding nature and old traditions while leaving sufficient space also for modern design and works of art by friends.

The house stands on a concrete slab while the entire construction is timber.

Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul

Also, the exterior and interior finishing is wood while the construction of the shutters is steel ensuring the rigidity of the moving elements and the stability of the house.

Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul


Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
© Toomas Tuul


Kuku-Ranna Summer House
Rear side
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
Front side
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
Sections 01


Kuku-Ranna Summer House
Sections 02
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
Plan - Site


Kuku-Ranna Summer House
Plan - 1st floor
Kuku-Ranna Summer House
Plan - 2nd floor