Heka Verkkosaarenkatu 6 er

The 7-story precast concrete-framed apartment building in Verkkosaari, Kalasatama, is part of a perimeter block with four sites for residential buildings and a plot for a garage and communal courtyard in the middle. State-subsidized ARA-rental apartments will be built for Heka Kalasatama as well as twenty service housing apartments for people with developmental disabilities for the City of Helsinki’s Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division. In total, there will be 101 apartments with an average floor area of 58m². 

Located on the ground floor of the building are shared spaces and service housing staff quarters, commercial premises, a warehouse and technical facilities, and apartments along Verkkosaarenkatu. The apartments are mainly located on floors 2 to 6. The 7^th floor is setback according to the detail plan. Located on the 7^th floor are sauna departments and a clubroom. The building has a green roof on which solar panels are placed.  

The plot of the residential building is zoned for student housing, in which case it is natural to use deep plan corridor type building model. However, when building the plot as family apartments the deep plan was a challenge. The key part of the design process has been to make good housing design and form a vibrant cityscape, despite the starting points. The design solution has avoided long middle corridors and placing spaces belonging to apartments in the middle of the frame. The solution is a two-staircase model, with staircases positioned on the side of the courtyard. The bright, spacious staircases compensate for the close-ended stair halls. The storage spaces are made in a floor-specific way in the center of the building frame, which is challenging for apartments due to the deep plan. The service housing staff have access to the staircase through the storage facilities. The storage facilities of the service housing apartments are built in the apartments, in which case they can be used, for example, to store auxiliary equipment. The placement of storage facilities on residential floors allows meaningful access to the central frame space and, on the other hand, building apartments in a convenient location on the first floor. 

The aim has been to make long-lasting and sustainable housing architecture not only on the façades, but also spacious apartments filled with natural light, that adapt to the needs of residents even after decades. 

In collaboration with A-Konsultit Architects.