Sky-high facade design – Kalasatama REDI
Finland’s tallest tower blocks and a modern, high-quality shopping centre will be built in Kalasatama. The structural plans of the REDI project were compiled by Sweco. The site was exceptionally challenging, and therefore the Building Control requires that a separate structural engineer in charge of facade design has been appointed for the site.
For years, the former busy industrial port has waited for a new beginning. Now a new residential district, REDI, is being planned on the shores of Kalasatama. This new district, which still honours the old traditions, will house the first skyscrapers of Helsinki. The six residential tower blocks of REDI as well as the office and hotel towers reach up to 132 metres at their highest point. The largest shopping and leisure centre in the Helsinki inner city area stands at the base of these towers, surrounded by parks and a beach promenade.
Sweco has plenty of competence regarding shopping centres and high-rise construction, but this project is in a class of its own. The highest towers are over 130 metres tall and they will be built above a shopping centre. This site is a hybrid building, where various operations will be placed on top of each other in challenging surroundings.
Due to the height and shape of the building, the wind load of the towers is exceptionally large. We have been able to measure this load exactly, thanks to wind tunnel tests and simulations. After the tests, we ended up using a structural solution for the towers which has been used for skyscrapers. The chosen solutions help achieve high standards both in stability and aesthetics without forgetting the density and safety of the outer casing. The facade elements are light and maintenance-free, and special attention has been paid to their outdoor exposure and corrosion tolerance.
The extent and duration of the site also makes it interesting and challenging. The site will be completely built through modelling by all the planning parties, which requires special competence from the designer.
At the moment, the shopping centre is already under construction and the first tower blocks are already being planned. Fitting together the shopping centre’s steel frame and external walls in real time is possible thanks to the information model used by the project’s different parties.
On estimate, the first residents will be able to move into tower blocks in 2018 and the whole REDI will be complete by 2022.