Porto-based architecture studio MASSLAB has won an international competition to transform an industrial warehouse into a 45,000-square-meter building for offices, shops and a hotel in Helsinki, Finland, one of the partners told Lusa on Tuesday.
The multi-use building was designed to be efficient and sustainable, with a “quite extensive” set of public spaces, said Diogo Sousa Rocha of the Porto architecture office MASSLAB.
Inserted in an important historical, cultural and industrial area, the architect pointed out that this is “probably the biggest urban project” happening in Helsinki right nowforming part of a historical complex that is the old railway factory.
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Divided into three layers, the ground floor, where the commercial area is located, is raised and organized around a vaulted ceiling to create more public space and allow people to circulate, he explained.
On the second level, which is the office area, a small forest open to the entire community was created in order to create a connection, already common in Finland, between the urban environment and nature, Diogo Sousa Rocha said.
With the densification of cities it is very normal to see a loss of this relationship between people and nature and usWith this proposal we wanted to reestablish that connection”, he clarified.
At the top of the building, as requested in the bidding program, is the hotel, he said.
As for the materials, the architect said that concrete will be used, as it is a tall building, traditional Finnish wood, recycled brick, glass and aluminum.
Diogo Sousa Rocha also said that he managed to convince the developer not to demolish the current building, which is prefabricated, but to dismantle it and assemble it in another industrial area.
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“Reuse is the key for us to have a more sustainable environment,” he stressed.
MASSLAB, which has already developed several projects in Finland, was shortlisted to participate in the international selection contest in two stages – Train Factory Mixed-Use Competition -, he highlighted.
The competition, organized by The Train Factory Group and the Helsinki City Council, included the participation of five architecture consortia, the architect specified.
Source: Observadora
