EUmies Awards 2015

Background
In 2011 Helsinki City property committee decided to look for a new concept and architectural look for the cafe that was to be built in Pyhä Birgitta Park. The concept "Active Park " came out on top. Architecturally sculptural design was to be a forerunner for the spirit in which the area is to be built further.

Structures, materials, architectural decisions
The building is at crossroads in an open landscape, where it needs to assert its role and be active in every direction: it has no front or back. It is transparent and accessible to a point of a comfortable thoroughfare. The building shelters from wind and rain and, no less importantly, provide a magnificent frame for the memorable view from this particular site. The building complex is made up of three log-framed structures of various heights, laid out in almost a propeller-shape. Between the blocks is a covered space with glass partitions to two sides. One of the blocks houses the kitchen and sales counter, the second the facilities for the toilets and maintenance, and the third is a "lounge" with a fireplace - the heated area. Building material is wood from Honkarakenne, which is not susceptible to changes in size due to its curing- and building technique. Wood-framed cantilevers cover the central space, hung together with steel wires and propped on one steel column. Laminated timber beams support glass plates in the wood-framed cantilevers. Sliding glass elements, suspended from the ceilings, make it possible to close the central sp ace and provide shelter from the wind. The fireplace stands in the middle. The outside of the building is made of 50x50 mm laminated wood elements with a scorched surface. The insides are of untreated wood. The terrace is of larch.

Technical solutions
Insulation and ventilation solutions are based on the fact that the building is only open for some of the year: it is small and only partly heated and does not need to meet full standard requirements.


Project
name Birgitta Hernesaari
address Hernesaarenranta, 00150 Helsinki

Client/Owner
Tommi Leppälä, Pia Loukiainen

Architects
Talli Architecture and Design Ltd.
Principal designer: Minna Lukander, architect
Project architect: Jari Heikkinen
Assisting designers:
Pia Ilonen, architect
Karoliina Hoppu, architect
Martti Lukander, interior designer
Lassi Heikkinen, interior designer

Structural engineering
Insinööritoimisto Matti Haapala Oy
Matti Haapala, DI

HPAC
Insinööritoimisto Jarmo Lehtonen Oy
Jarmo Lehtonen
Builders
Tommi Leppälä (additional builders contracted by him)
Honkarakenne Oyj
Other concerned parties
Smoke-curing facilities Sauna Savu.

Manufacturers and suppliers
Charred wood: Smoke-curing facilities Savu Management Oy,
Log frame supplier: Honkarakenne Oyj,