Reinhard Reitzenstein
:: Puutalo | Treehouse :: 2003 :: Tree, House ::

 T his project "Puutalo" was a response to the context of witnessing the numerous tiny summer cabins along the many lakes in Finland. I wanted to use one of these cabins and site it in the park in Pirkkala which also has a small lake. When looking for one of these cabins I tried to either find a way to fabricate one myself or locate a prefabricated version of one from a building supply. During the search curator Villu Jaanisoo found a ruined cabin in a neighbour's yard. It was destined to be burned but we were able to rescue the small cabin. We moved it to the park where it was renovated and then was placed over top of an existing tree. The tree comes through the roof and will continue to grow and change the relationship to the cabin and the surrounding forest. The cabin was over 60 years old and now revitalized and recontextualized it immerges as a signifier of a disappearing vernacular architecture within Finnish culture. The cabin dreams its way back into the imagination of the culture. The tree through it reabsorbs the cabin into the landscape. Together they are a metaphor for history. Through the windows of the cabin visitors can see the blackened walls on the interior. The walls were coloured using the burned remains of parts of the cabin disposed of during renovation. It is like a drawing of walls on walls. I wanted to be sure that the entire cabin was reused, recycled, reclaimed and redressed. As a visitor I wanted to create a relationship to that place.