Set within a pine forest near Saint Petersburg, the Two-Story Timber Frame House by Delo organizes a 185 m² domestic program into a compact ensemble of gabled volumes. The composition references northern rural estates while calibrating massing, openings, and a wrap-around terrace to the forest topography. A timber frame over a reinforced concrete foundation supports cedar cladding and a restrained interior fit-out, with environmental systems and in-house fabrication aligning construction pragmatics with long-term comfort.
Two-Story Timber Frame House Technical Information
- Architects1-2: Delo Studio
- Location: Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Gross Area: 185 m2 | 1991 Sq. Ft.
- Completion Year: 2025
- Photographs: © Varvara Toplennikova, Victor Yuliev
We treated the house as a compact rural ensemble, using a lineage of northern forms as a framework for contemporary routines. Timber construction, calibrated massing, and durable finishes were selected to align comfort with the climate and the forest setting.
– Arseny Brodach
Two-Story Timber Frame House Photographs
Vernacular References and Massing
The house reads as a group of interconnected gabled volumes, a controlled reinterpretation of the northern estate typology. Varied ridge heights signal program while maintaining a coherent silhouette, and dormer windows punctuate the roof to bring daylight deep into the upper level. The ensemble avoids a single monolithic form; instead, the staggered profiles register more minor scales that sit comfortably within the vertical rhythm of the pines.
A wrap-around terrace establishes an intermediary threshold between interior rooms and the forest floor. Dual stair connections extend circulation outdoors, distributing access to the ground plane and encouraging multiple routes through and around the house. This continuous deck serves as both a plinth and a social surface, stabilizing the composition and mediating the grade while reinforcing the house’s reading as a clustered set of volumes rather than an isolated object.
Spatial Organization and Domestic Program
An illuminated entrance hall leads to a central corridor that orders the ground floor. Service spaces are sequenced along this spine, with a guest WC, walk-in wardrobe, and sauna forming a buffer that clarifies the gradient between public and private zones. The organization reads clearly in plan: utilities and storage consolidate along the axis so that principal rooms remain unobstructed and legible.
To one side, a large open kitchen, dining, and living area supports collective routines while retaining sub-zones defined by structure and openings to the terrace. Opposite, two separate home offices and a guest bedroom address contemporary patterns of remote work and visiting family, providing acoustic and spatial separation from the communal wing. Above, the steep attic roof houses the master bedroom, a children’s room, and a forest-facing bathroom. Sloping ceilings and dormers shape spatial character, while carefully placed windows extend views through the canopy and balance intimacy with prospect.
Materiality, Structure, and Envelope
A timber frame rises from a reinforced concrete foundation, combining precision assembly with long-term stability suited to northern ground conditions. The frame allows clean detailing at junctions and consistent structural bays, which in turn support rational room proportions and efficient runs for services. Structural clarity is legible in the interiors, where spans and posts subtly organize furniture layouts without relying on partitions.
Custom-milled cedar cladding, stained in deep brown, situates the building within regional material culture while offering dimensional stability and resistance to weathering. The tactile surface tempers the massing and moderates visual scale against the forest backdrop. Inside, integrated storage and walk-in wardrobes compress service volume into the envelope, maintaining a restrained expression and maximizing usable floor area across both levels.
Environmental Systems and Fabrication Strategy
Construction relied on precision-cut timber and standard-sized components to reduce offcuts and streamline site work. This strategy aligns environmental aims with cost control while supporting consistent quality across repeated details. The approach also simplifies future maintenance, as replacement elements can follow the same dimensional logic.
Year-round comfort is handled by hydronic underfloor heating, mechanical ventilation, and integrated air conditioning. The combination addresses seasonal temperature swings and indoor air quality without intrusive equipment, preserving the clarity of the timber interiors. Many structural and interior elements, including furniture, were developed and fabricated by the project team, ensuring material continuity from envelope to fittings and reinforcing the spatial coherence established by the plan and frame.
Two-Story Timber Frame House Plans
Two-Story Timber Frame House Image Gallery
About Delo Studio
Delo Studio is a multidisciplinary creative collective based in Russia, founded in 2015. Spanning architecture, furniture design, interior objects, and clothing, the studio is dedicated to crafting holistic and human-centered environments. Delo’s architectural projects, developed through its Delo House division, emphasize sustainability, craftsmanship, and context-sensitive design that harmonizes built forms with their natural surroundings.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Client: Delo Studio
- Construction company: Ivan Novikov, Nikita Sokolov
