The Finnish Houses are buildings that were widely used to accommodate miners' during the 1920-1930s when coal mining in Svalbard increased. Built by Finnish architects and builders, they later became known as Finnish houses or just "Finki". After the purchase of the Barentsburg mines the Arktikugol trust continued to build Finnish houses but with modified floor plans and alternative materials. Although those houses represented a typical Soviet-era accommodation for miners, only four buildings of that type remain in Barentsburg today, - making them an significant element of the settlement’s history.

Object name: The Finnish Houses
Location: Barentsburg, Svalbard
Function: hotel
Number of floors: 1-2 floors
Area of each building: 80.2 m2
Project Authors: Timofey Kuznetsov , Timofey Nikolsky, Maria Torbenko, Mlada Fedorina

Historically, each house was divided into two so-called “apartments” with separate entrances through an entrance hall, or a small unheated terrace. Those terraces were used for storing things and perishable food. The described living unit consisted of a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom. Initially, the houses were heated with stovepipes, but later the residents got a centralized steam heating system.

A pre-design research was aimed at identifying typical tourist demands for accommodation in Barentsburg in general and the renovated Finnish houses specifically. The main demand discovered by the authors was in creating comfortable and safe tourist accommodation that reflects the settlement’s rich history, local identity and unique attractions.