Supercell headquarters – flagship for complex solid wood construction

The new headquarters of the game development company Supercell is part of the unique Wood City block in the Jätkäsaari district of Helsinki. SRV, Stora Enso and Sweco have developed new solid wood structures for this project. Furthermore, the use of the facility is supported with secured building services.

In addition to the new Supercell headquarters, the EUR 100 million Wood City block, due to be finished in 2021, consists of two wooden residential buildings, parking facilities and a hotel. The wooden office complex developed jointly by SRV, Stora Enso and Sweco has generated a lot of interest in the field.

“It is a joint effort towards a new type of construction and an example of how things can be done differently,” explains Maija Tiainen, project manager of wooden structure design at Sweco. The architectural designs of Wood City are secret, but it should come as no surprise that the Supercell headquarters is far from your average office. “The building will include a variety of team working spaces and functionalities, and it could be compared to a shopping centre, for example!”

This is the largest wood construction project SRV has ever developed. “The significance of the office complex is increased by its future user and its location as a landmark around the entrance of Jätkäsaari,” emphasises Development Director and Project Manager Antti Aaltonen from SRV.

From the start, the goal of the project was to create a new flagship for wood construction. According to Business Development Manager Antto Kauhanen from Stora Enso Wood Products, the benefits of wood are emphasised in densely built environments like Jätkäsaari. “A large number of lightweight but strong wood elements can be transported at once, reducing transport, costs and emissions. The use of wood has cut construction emissions by half.”

Co-developed innovative wood construction

The greatest structural engineering challenges in this project were the unique architectural and structural-engineering characteristics of the building. In the end, the 8-storey office building was built using pillar beam elements of LVL plywood stiffened with concrete shafts and adaptable bolting. A completely new LVL production line was established at Stora Enso’s factory in Varkaus.

“Initially we had no standardised design values to work with, and structural designers had to make a lot of assumptions,” says Kauhanen. As the design progressed, the functionality of the structure system was verified with standardised design values. “Our professionals responded to the changes quickly, and Sweco’s structural designers had a central role in developing the office complex.”

An exceptional amount of modifications were required. ”Our job was to coordinate the client’s wishes with the site schedules, which was not a simple task. Communication was of the utmost importance,” Tiainen says. “We actively guided the operation with the help of Last Planner, for instance.”

Building services supporting Supercell’s ambitious work environment

Supercell’s objective was to create the best work environment in the world. The distribution of power to the offices is secured by two transformers, and an external reserve power access point was connected to the server room. “Two data-transmission cable routes lead to the building. The fibre-optic cables inside the building were also installed through two routes. In other words, at least one route is always in use,” explains Jyrki Kokko, Sweco’s Project Director of Electrical, Telecommunication and Safety Engineering.

The high information transport capacity, extensive audio-visual systems and flexible lighting solutions meant that the number of cables in the complex would be very high. PoE power transfer requirements were also taken into account in the building’s IT cabling. “Devices connected to LAN can also be powered through the IT cables, in which case there is no need for separate power supplies,” says Kokko.

The client wanted the developers to prioritise employees’ well-being and technical adaptability in the technological solutions. Most of the office cabling is installed underneath a suspension floor to ensure workstation flexibility. This was also an architecturally sound solution. “There are no socket poles or hanging connection leads,” Kokko adds. Even the lighting control system is wireless. “Light switches can be attached directly to glass walls, for example.”

The car park has 48 electric car charging stations and even more stations can be installed later thanks to the handy rail power supply system. “We also designed the video monitoring and access control systems and the cable routes for the audio-visual systems,” says Kokko. “Furthermore, we designed a fire detection system equipped with smoke detectors alongside a sprinkler system, which is mandatory in tall wooden buildings.”

“Wood City is the largest wood construction project in SRV’s history. Its significance is increased by its future user and its location as a landmark around the entrance of Jätkäsaari.”

– Antti Aaltonen, SRV

“Sweco’s structural designers had a central role in developing the office complex.”

– Antto Kauhanen, Stora Enso

“Using wood can cut construction emissions by half.”

– Antto Kauhanen, Stora Enso