Architects Hanna Karits and Mari Hunt used locally sourced wood to create this house in Estonia, which sits on top of a disused cellar in a forest.

Named Põro House, the home is designed to have minimal impact on its remote plot, which is surrounded by lakes and trees in Võru County.

It occupies a structure built almost entirely from wood, positioned on top of the existing basement walls and stilts that respond to the sloping site.

Hanna Karits and Mari Hunt have created Põro House in Estonia

Architects Hanna Karits and Mari Hunt sourced materials for Põro House from within a 30-kilometre radius and aimed to use as much wood as possible to reference the forested site.

"The entire construction of the house is crafted from wood, not merely store-bought lumber but timber specially cut for this project," Hunt told Dezeen.

"The wood was locally sourced from nearby forests in southern Estonia, selected by local craftsmen who possess the knowledge of precisely which trees to cut and the optimal timing for it."

The house uses an existing cellar as its base

Põro House comprises a cuboidal volume topped with a pitched roof, both clad entirely in dark, stained timber. The black exterior draws from the design of the surrounding farm structures on the site.

The stone walls of the existing basement are left visible, and its interior can be accessed through an arched doorway beneath the balcony of the new structure.