Spaces

OFF GRID ESCAPE

1st June 2021

When I was thinking about how this blog was changing – away from design to more personal posts about coastal living and some of our favourite places to explore and walk – I wasn’t sure how to integrate design into this format. Would it jar? Possibly. But some design led posts still feel like they fit here, and particularly when you combine contemporary architecture with a sustainable ethos and a striking coastal location, as with Majamaja, which is situated just outside Helsinki.

Majamama is an off-grid holiday home that was conceived and designed by architect Pekka Littow, and there are plans for five cabins here. Perched on this rocky outcrop, the inspiration for the Majamaja concept comes from the Finnish archipelago and its human-scale building tradition, along with the desire for harmony between people and the natural world.

With this in mind, Majamaja applies a holistic approach that combines self-sustained green energy use, rainwater collection, and a circular water clean-up system. Black painted native spruce was used for the cabin, and bespoke furniture was integrated to maximise the internal floor space. Solar roof panels provide electricity and a closed-loop water system minimises waste from the shower and sink. A narrow timber deck forms a bridge that leads from the woodland to the cabin, while a wooden deck faces onto the sea.

I spotted this project on Dezeen and in that post (you can see it here) Littow is quoted as saying: “The purpose of Majamaja is to show how small-scale architecture, combined with green technology, can compensate for big volumes and centralised on-grid systems.” I’d escape here in a second. Would you?

For more information on Majamaja – or to book a trip – have a look here.

All photography by Marc Goodwin.