Pihlajanmarja is a block of right-of-occupancy apartments, situated on a visible corner across two sites.
Challenging requirements formed the basis of the design; the town plan called for a curving mass with a decreasing number of storeys, a public pedestrian route crossed the site at the boundary of the two properties, and parking facilities had to be placed under the courtyard deck or in the basement. The site was small for the development and the price level was too low compared with the requirements specified by the town plan.
At the north end, the building has 5 storeys, decreasing at the south end to two storeys. The building curving mass on the street side is robust and solid, with a tall gateway through the centre for the pathway.
The lower southern part of the building consists of terraced flats with entrances on the street side and their own garden areas to the back towards the evening sun. The street-side entrances have been levelled with a glazed concrete wall to ensure accessibility. The entrances are private and spacious thanks to recessed doors.
A continuous zone of balconies characterises the high-rise part of the building on the courtyard side. The façade material is a high-quality precast concrete panel with two different surface textures in a free-form grid. The rear walls of the balconies are made of wood on the courtyard side. The balconies feature full-height glazing, and white concrete can be seen in the walls between the balconies and also as speed stripes on the railings by terraced points.
Pihlajanmarja was published in the Betoni-magazine 4/2016.
Year: 2015
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Team: Kirsti Sivén, Asko Takala, Nina Vauhkonen, Milja Nykänen, Emmi Keskisarja, Henna Manninen, Gerrie Bekhuis, Päivi Anttila, Stefan Vara, Tuula Nurmi, Samuli Summanen, Alex Torres
