Residential blocks Fiskari and Fregatti

A new city district has risen in the former docks in Sörnäistenranta, with a characteristically strong block structure. The implementation of the Fiskari and Fregatti residential buildings is based on our winning design for the architectural competition organised for the blocks of flats.

The jury’s summary of our design is as follows: “An unprecedented, individual and strong architectural entity that utilises the traditions of modern architecture in a new way. The flats are natural and of high quality. The design proposes a spatial connection between bedrooms and bathrooms, which has popped up in Finnish residential design now and again, but has been forgotten at times.”

The starting point of the architectural approach has been a dialogue with the existing surroundings. We looked out of the windows of the future flats to the sea and beyond to Katajanokka, Mustikkamaa and Suomenlinna. Our architects were inspired by the rocks and barriers rising from the sea, houses and fortresses built on top of the barriers, dark roofs on top of light houses as well as the meandering defences of the fortress.

We drew strength for our buildings from the plain landscape. The layers of different colours in the brick walls, dotted with regular gaps, lie atop each other like bricks. The smaller, darker top layers lend a certain nobility to the buildings, and their structure resembles the traditional attic levels of the city.

The sheltered courtyard on top of the parking spaces looks on to lower buildings.

The floor design of the flats is based on spacious living and dining areas that stretch through the frame of the building and, on the other hand, a more intimate zone created by bedrooms and bathrooms.