New housing unit for people on the spectrum of autism

Invitational competition, 1st prize and subsequent realization

A new type of housing unit for people on the spectrum of autism that takes the form of an urban villa entirely built of wood. The building contains eight studio flats with multifunctional common spaces on the ground floor which will also serve the rest of the neighbourhood. Regular housing was also designed to be built on the same plot.

”The plans of the dwellings are flexible, cosy and functional. There are plenty of details that work particularly well when considering the needs of those within the spectrum of autism”

excerpt from the jury report

Project
details

Location

Hovinsaari, Kotka

Client

ARA – The housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland, Carea Oy, City of Kotka, Ministry of the Environment, The Finnish Association for Autism and Asperger’s, The Finnish Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Size

1 320 m2

Time

2012-2013 competition, 2016-2017 realization

Responsible designer

Hennu Kjisik, Trevor Harris, Hannu Louna

Project architect

Sofia de Vocht

Team

Henna Kemppainen, Mira Kyllönen, Annamari Löfgren

Photos

Tuomas Uusheimo