The slice of land itself

First off, it's not on the water; we couldn't afford that, even if such a property came available, and they usually don't. These are really family homes and as such they get handed down from one generation to another. So we're inland. You can see it as the greenish wedge on the image attached.

The long back edge parallels the electricity line that runs through the island. It's fairly grassy and meadowy back there. Going towards the sharper point of the perimiter, facing the water, it's essentially a big piece of granite. That's perfect. We're going to put a set of foundation pilings right on the rock. (Well, Janne will, to be precise.) The house will sit on top of those. You can see a panoramic image of the land in the link section.

One big open issue is exactly how we will orient the house on the land. We have a number of sometimes-conflicting concerns:
1. We want to have maximum sunshine
2. We want to have the best view of the forest below
3. The more the house sets on the granite, the easier it is to build
4. It needs to be 4.5 meters from the edge of the property line
5. We're also going to build a small guest house, so the relationship between the two houses needs to be considered

In our visit in early August, we set out the orientation as best we could. I think it's pretty close, but not yet there 100%. There needs to be more visits, measurements, and decision-making before Janne starts drilling the pilings!