Joint quality assurance worked in the new office building planned for Nordea
The office building at Aleksis Kiven katu 5, which will be used by Nordea, was designed for a demanding environment and ground conditions according to high quality criteria. Sweco was responsible for the structural design of the project and coordination of humidity and cleanliness control.
The office project, implemented by NCC as a project management contract , will be completed during 2024 in Vallila, Helsinki, for Nordea’s use. At the same site, the old office building used by Nordea was demolished. The designers of the project were selected by the developer real estate investment company Pembroke.
“In this large project with challenging technical solutions, the client emphasised the structural designers’ experience in new construction, renovation and headquarters-level office construction,” says Emil Ranta, Project Manager of Design Management at NCC. “Sweco, one of the largest and most reputable in Finland, was chosen as the main structural designer.”
Sweco was also responsible for coordinating humidity and cleanliness control at the site. “The goal was to achieve the best possible P1 cleanliness class,” says Sweco’s Building Physical Designer Anna-Liisa Laukkanen, who acted as the moisture and cleanliness control coordinator in the project.
New office building in the middle of the block
Pembroke set clear design bases and technical requirements for the site. The aim was to build a high-quality building in the middle of the Nordea Campus block, the main challenges of which were the connections to the adjacent buildings.
“Our work started with a baseline investigation and demolition planning, and we went to the basement of Nordea’s old building to find paper plans for both the old office space and the other properties in the block,” says Atte Lastuvirta, Project Manager at Sweco.
Due to the soft clay soil, the new building required piling, although at first the piles of the old building also remained on the site. “That’s why we prepared for the worst and designed the pillar division of the building according to the old piles,” says Lastuvirta. Good news was received in connection with the demolition, as the old foundations could mainly be dismantled. “That’s when we simplified the plans.”
The basement of the eight-story building was largely designed below the groundwater level. All concrete structures had to be watertight at the joints to the surrounding buildings. In some places, the frame of the new office lay on top of the basements of other buildings.
“NCC’s design management worked well in anticipation and secured all permits on time, which kept the design and construction on schedule,” Lastuvirta says.
Efficient information flow in a common Tekla model
Structural designer Sweco and frame supplier Peikko worked in the same Tekla building information model during the project, which was one of the prerequisites for Lastuvirta’s success. After all, the project faced all possible challenges, from the coronavirus to the war in Ukraine. Cooperation was weighed especially in the design of the full brick façade.
“The windows are positioned asymmetrically in different lines on different floors, and the façade had to be supported from each intermediate floor level
In Ranta’s opinion, working in a common data model paid off. “In the planning meetings of the most intensive frame phase, we noticed how well the cooperation and information exchange between Sweco and Peikko worked.”
Quality and risks were managed together
Sweco’s structural engineers kept NCC and the client informed of the progress of the design in design reviews and regular follow-up meetings. Throughout the project, Pembroke’s strict documentation requirements were also scrupulously followed.
In humidity and cleanliness management, a transparent flow of information was ensured by recording reports in the Congrid system used by NCC in quality management. “In this way, information about possible deficiencies was immediately communicated to the responsible contractors,” Laukkanen says.
Risks related to personnel resourcing were also successfully anticipated. Sweco’s project manager Kari Lemettinen was known to retire during the project, which is why Lastuvirta was preparing to step into his shoes first as the project’s project engineer.
“The change of responsibility worked very well, and Sweco’s structural engineers delivered everything that had been agreed on time,” Ranta says. If there were changes, they were announced bluntly and openly in advance. “I believe that the project will achieve the user’s high quality requirements and still on schedule.”