The sublime simplicity of Finland’s Kärsämäki Church had long been an inspiration for artist Elina Försti. So when she and her husband, Petri Mäkelä, decided to build a house for their family, they immediately thought of its architect, Anssi Lassila of OOPEAA Office for Peripheral Architecture.

At more than 16 feet tall, the locally fabricated windows benefit from aluminum frames, which can be substantially thinner than wood versions." layout="" credit="Photo by James Silverman" photoUserId="6133437936712613888"/>

The couple wanted an efficient home made of recyclable materials. That attitude enticed Lassila, who usually works on a larger scale, to take on the project. “I knew I could give him free rein from the moment we met,” says Elina.

The three structures that make up House Riihi—its name references the local barns that inspired its form—are deceptively simple. A Talomat automation system from Finland’s Control Intelligence allows the family to turn on lights and unlock doors, and its battery means the house stays powered even in outages. Once a solar array is installed, the structures will be able to be unplugged from the grid completely.

For those looking to get smart, Petri offers simple advice: “Decide the level of automation you’re aiming for—then choose the system one level higher.”

Additional reporting by Katie Treggiden.