Refurbishment and extension project. The project – a residential / business building – in which the original 2-storey industrial building (designed in 1919) has been raised with 5 new storeys. New steel columns and foundation piles. In the old brick facades Cor-Ten steel has been used in the facade balcony balustrades and steel cladding elements, as the new facade material of the demolished courtyard plant structures and in special luminaires.

Real Estate Company Aleksis Kiven katu 52-54 is a 7-storey residential/business building, in which the original 2-storey industrial building has been raised with 5 new storeys. The building is located in the Alppiharju town part opposite the Pasila engineering works sheds of State Railways in Helsinki.

Raised section of the building has been withdrawn on the courtyard side of the building.

Architect W.G. Palmqvist designed in 1919 a 7-storey industrial building for the plot, but only the basement and two storeys were built. This classical brick building was a perfect representative of industrial building style of its time.

In 1990 the plot owner applied for a new site plan, in which the main objective was to preserve the old industrial building by finding a new application for it. If the building had been demolished, the plot would only have had building right for a 5-storey residential building.

The greatest challenge of the planning work was how to realise the new residential storeys on top of the old building. The old frame depth was 17 m, built as a column/beam system in reinforced concrete. The frame depth and the apartment division of a normal new residential storey deviated so much from this, that part of the vertical loads had to be transmitted by steel columns from the level of the 3rd floor to the foundations. Vertical connections, stair halls and vertical shafts had to be located between existing primary and secondary beams, which dictated specific requirements to the planning of the apartments. The old wooden foundation piles were replaced by new driven steel piles.

The interaction between the new and the old façade was another challenging issue. The division of the new façade had to reflect a clearly modern expression, with a strong support from the original plinth. The selection of materials played an important role. The main materials of the façades include cast-in-situ red brick, steel and glass. The steel structures and cladding elements contain e.g. riveted and bolted joints, which create an association with the earlier engineering works milieu.

Cor-Ten steel has been used e.g. in the façade balcony balustrades and steel cladding elements, as the new façade material of the demolished courtyard annex and the machine sheds, in the courtyard plant structures and in special luminaires. Cor-Ten with its patinated appearance proved a justified choice, as it creates a harmonious expression together with the old surfaces.

The building contains 105 apartments, and some 1000 m² of business facilities on the ground floor. Some of the business facilities have also a basement space of workshop type, with top windows. The basement that covers the entire plot contains a garage for 46 cars, as well as sauna facilities and storerooms.

In connection with the building of the parking deck, the courtyard deck was raised to the same level as the courtyards of the adjacent buildings. This made it possible to build a fairly large park-like playground on the upper level of the courtyard area.

Floor area: 7,720 m²
Total area: 10,300 m²
Volume: 34,500 m³

Key information

Number of storeys	7
Living area (m2)	7,720 m2
Renovation-refurbishment

Location of steel solutions

Balcony
Beams
Columns
Facade
Foundation

Types of steel used in the building

Long carbon steel
Metallic coated flat carbon steel
Organic coated flat carbon steel

Real Estate Company Aleksis Kiven katu 52-54 Helsinki, Finland