Snapshot: Helsinki's off-grid village

Pekka Littow's Majamaja project

Only 10 kilometres from the sea, the Finnish capital of Helsinki is surrounded on three sides by water and a veritable mosaic of 330 islands.

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On an expanse of rocks located between a forest and the water’s edge, Finnish architect Pekka Littow recently built a small off-grid cabin – the first of five, part of the Majamaja project.

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Each cabin is made from modular prefabricated kits built of native Finnish spruce and birch plywood, and will soon be available for overnight stays and short-term rentals.

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With large windows and decks overlooking the archipelago, the cabins include solar panels on the roof for electricity. And, of course, there will be a sauna.

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‘The purpose of the Majamaja project is to show how small-scale architecture, combined with green technology, can compensate for big volumes and centralised on-grid systems.’

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