More Than Half of This Finnish Architect’s Tiny Home Is Made From Recycled Materials
Matti Kuittinen’s 365-square-foot residence is a call to action to reduce the carbon footprint of home building.
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As an associate professor of sustainable construction at Aalto University in Finland, architect Matti Kuittinen is invigorated by the challenges that his contrasting interests present. He researches the construction industry’s effects on climate change, but designs buildings, too; how could he imagine one that wasn’t so burdensome on the planet?
In a recent experiment, Kuittinen turned to recycled materials, building a prefabricated 365-square-foot tiny home he refers to as Shadow. "Fifty-six percent of it by weight is recycled," he says. "This means it has less than half of a typical home’s carbon footprint, and around twenty percent of the material consumption of a typical detached house."
Below, Kuittinen shares how he sourced materials, the benefits of using a prefabricated construction method, and why it’s becoming more important than ever to rethink how we build homes.
Architect and academic Matti Kuittinen built a 365-square-foot tiny home using mostly recycled materials.
Photo courtesy of Kuittinen
What did you look for in materials when you were designing Shadow?
I looked at two sources. For starters, I sought out products that contain recycled raw materials according to Environmental Product Declarations, like a steel frame, bitumen roofing, insulation materials, construction boards, and flooring, for instance. In addition to recycled materials, I tried to reuse old products directly, which is better for the environment since no additional energy is required to produce them. Those materials include the exterior cladding, doors, windows, fixed furniture, and bathroom appliances.
He used an old door for the entry.
Photo courtesy of Kuittinen
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Where did you source materials? How did procurement play into your goal of having a small footprint?
The reused products were sourced locally, while products with recycled contents are from the EU. I did most of the procurement and specification of products myself, so I could follow how close I was to my goal of making a building with a weight made up of more than half reused and recycled contents.
Curtains can hide the kitchen from the living space.
Photo courtesy of Kuittinen
What qualities make your prefab designs stand apart from others?
Finns don’t usually boast, and I follow this tradition! It’s up to others to decide if my design stands apart from others.
The countertops are a composite of recycled stone.
Photo courtesy of Kuittinen
How were you keeping sustainability in mind during the construction process?
The building was prefabricated, and electricity was our main resource. In Finland, the emissions of grid electricity are very low, so environmental impacts from prefabrication are marginal. The factory is just six or so miles from where the home stands, so the environmental harms of transportation were also marginal. I also positioned the building so that as many trees could be saved as possible, and we designed the foundations with a structural engineer to minimize disturbance to the site.
"The main space serves several purposes, which saves space and therefore construction materials and energy," Kuittinen says. "There are no function-specific spaces apart from the bathroom, sleeping modules, and a sauna."
Photo courtesy of Kuittinen
What was the biggest challenge of the design and construction?
To design for myself. It’s much easier to design for a client. As I was both the client and the designer, it was a bit more difficult to choose between several potential options. As for construction, the main challenge was to find a foundation solution that would require as few materials as possible. Poor soil quality required replacing clay with gravel due to frost issues, which I would have liked to avoid.
A small workspace can also be curtained off.
Photo courtesy of Kuittinen
How long did it take to construct Shadow from start to finish? When was it completed?
It took one year from starting the design to moving in. The construction work took four months, but could have been completed faster.
How much did it cost and what does that pricing include?
The cost for this home in Finland was around €2,600 per square meter (roughly €88,000 total, or $100,00), which is slightly below average.
Kuittinen’s teenage son uses this private study space.
Photo courtesy of Kuittinen
"We tried a secret recipe that contains both recycled plastics and other industrial non-harmful waste streams," he says of the bathroom’s construction. "It uses eighty percent recycled materials."
Photo courtesy of Kuittinen
What do you hope people take away from this?
That it’s possible to live comfortably with fewer resources. I don't have another apartment—this is not a weekend getaway or a writer’s hut at the back of a garden.
We need to build two billion new homes for the growing global population during this century. This will increase the consumption of materials and energy for construction beyond anything we’ve seen so far. Therefore, all ways to help save resources are much needed, and good design can make more out of less space and fewer resources.
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