Karamalmi School

The Karamalmi school was completed in 1954 and designed by Hilding Eklund. The school building represents typical 1950s school architecture. The building is not exactly protected, but it is classified as cultural historically significant building in Espoo and the Museum of the City of Espoo acted as its protection authority. The Karamalmi school is an elementary school with a pre-school attached. The number os pupils with the pre-school included is about 220. The original school building was renovated and a separate building was built on its east side. A waste storage chamber, tractor garage and play equipment storage were built on the yard. The plot of the school is 17 800 m².  

The goal for the renovation was not only to improve the functionality of the school but also to preserve the building as close to its original form as possible. The school kitchen, dining hall, gym with its locker rooms and almost all educational and special education spaces are located in the original building. The building, typically for 1950s school buildings, had several level differences and no elevators. For accessible maintenance and passenger traffic, two new elevators were designed in the building and a lift for the performing stage. All the technical installations of the original building were renewed and it was equipped with mechanical ventilation. The roof was elevates and its shape was modified to fit the ventilation units.  

The appearance of the original building was respected in the architecture of the extension. The new building was adjusted to the original buildings height, it has two floors and its façades are rendered brick walls, like the ones in the original building. The pre-schools, media tech, student care facilities, administrative facilities and teachers’ workspaces, as well as a civil defence shelter with staff social facilities and a cleaning centre are located in the new building.