Valkoinen Arkitekter and K2S Architects are revitalizing Makasiinranta in Helsinki
Studios White Arkitekter and K2S Architects are designing an underutilized cultural area along the Helsinki harbor with several historical buildings.
Local practice K2S Architects and Sweden White Arkitekter won competitive revives the Makasiiniranta area of the city’s Eteläsatama with a proposal called Saaret, which has been developed with the consortium Konsortium Gran.
The Makasiinranta construction site is 83,000 square meters in size and will include, among other things, the long-discussed museum of architecture and designfor which a separate competition will be held in 2023.
The area currently houses old port terminals and is the only remaining part of the Finnish capital’s old port that is closed to public use.
According to Saareti’s presentation, it will be changed with coastal squares that continue the public walkway around the Helsinki cape.
The pedestrian area will be connected to the surrounding areas of Kaartinkaupungi, Ullanlinna and Kaivopuisto, and the current main road Laivasillankatu will open to squares that frame views of the Uspenski Cathedral and the Baltic Sea.
Three historic buildings will be preserved in the area – the Old Market Hall, the Olympic Terminal and the Satamatalo, the latter two of which will be turned into cultural destinations, and the new additions will include business and office spaces, a restaurant and a hotel.
To improve the area’s microclimate, diverse natural habitats are created, which include rooftop beehives and vegetable and herb gardens.
The jury selected Konsortium Gran’s proposal out of four submissions and praised its treatment of urban attractions, respectful treatment of historic structures and “creating a new unique layer in the national landscape”.
“It is an honor to be able to write a new narrative for such an important part of the national landscape in Helsinki and in our country,” said Mikko Summanen, partner of K2S Arkkitehtoimisto.
“I believe that Makasiinranta is a much bigger project than just a footprint. It has the potential to revitalize the entire center of Helsinki.”
The competition plans had to include climate-smart and sustainable construction methods that meet the City of Helsinki’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2035.
Konsortium Gran also includes a real estate company Niamhengineering consulting Ramboll Finland and a construction company Construction agency HTJ Oy.
A separate design competition is planned for the new museum building – which connects two existing museums, the Architecture Museum and the Design Museum – in 2023.
The museum has been the subject of much debate since its design Guggenheim Helsinkionce planned their homes in Makasiinranta, were abandoned in 2016.
A multidisciplinary advisory group has recently been appointed to shepherd the museum through its development phase. Its leading experts from the worlds of design and architecture include MoMA’s senior curator Paola AntonelliDirector of ArkDes Kieran Long and Index Project CEO Liza Chong.
The Makasiinranta development area stretches from the northern edge of Kauppator’s Kolera basin to the south of the Olympia terminal to the northern corner of Kaivopuisto.
Valkoinen Arkitekter’s recent projects include e.g Gothenburg’s first wooden office building, Nodi, and another wooden building, at the Sara Kulturhus center in Swedenwhich should be carbon negative throughout its lifetime.