{"id":14224,"date":"2019-02-21T13:08:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T11:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/?p=14224"},"modified":"2022-12-05T18:35:41","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T16:35:41","slug":"the-building-services-of-the-alvar-aalto-centre-in-seinajoki-are-a-series-of-creative-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/insight\/news\/the-building-services-of-the-alvar-aalto-centre-in-seinajoki-are-a-series-of-creative-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"The building services of the Alvar Aalto Centre in Sein\u00e4joki are a series of creative solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Seinajoen<\/h2>\n

The building services of the Alvar Aalto Centre in Sein\u00e4joki are a series of creative solutions<\/h1>\n

The Alvar Aalto Centre of the City of Sein\u00e4joki is one of Finland\u2019s most architecturally notable building complexes. When it came time to update the structural design and electrical and HVAC systems of the City-owned Aalto buildings in a way that respects their original design ideas, the company chosen for the job was Sweco.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The extensive renovation of the Aalto sites began a few years ago with the renovation of the city library. This spring will see the completion of the renovation of the government office building and City Hall, after which the focus will shift to the city theatre. The last part of the complex to be renovated will be the citizens\u2019 square.\u201cThis is an extensive and highly notable complex in Sein\u00e4joki, so the renovation has been scheduled based not only on protection issues, but the tourist perspective as well. The complex is frequently visited by groups of foreign tourists,\u201d says the City of Sein\u00e4joki\u2019s Supervisor of Electric Works\u00a0Tommy Lemberg<\/strong>.The buildings, which were originally built in the early 1960s, are not only being renovated, but also restored in a way that corresponds as closely as possible to Aalto\u2019s original vision. Over the years, the buildings have been outfitted with additional generic cabling and building services, among other things. Now all the building services will be moved out of sight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe renovations are being carried out architecture first, which requires compromises from both us supervisors and the building services designers,\u201d states Lemberg. In order to come up with new ways of doing things, the project involves active dialogue between architects, designers and the Finnish Heritage Agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweco\u2019s designers have made my job easier by spending a lot of time researching and investigating things. What has been most commendable is the designers\u2019 ability and desire to work on the little details in a way that facilitates the entire project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Electricity planning guided by Aalto architecture<\/strong><\/p>\n

The electricity planning of the first phase of the project, the Aalto library, was handled by Avecon Oy and electrical designer\u00a0Seppo Huhtanen.\u00a0<\/strong>In January 2019, Avecon Oy was acquired by Sweco, with Huhtanen staying on board for the rest of the project as well. The building\u2019s original design solutions have been respected to such an impressive degree that the renovation is up for a European Heritage Award.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been a wholly unique project in my 30-year career. We renewed the electrical systems in accordance with instructions provided by the Finnish Heritage Agency and the Alvar Aalto Foundation, following the principle of not being allowed to change anything, but having to update everything!\u201d Huhtanen laughs.<\/p>\n

All of the light fittings designed by Aalto were cleaned, re-painted, equipped with new LED technology and put back into place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe theatre\u2019s safety and emergency exit lighting in particular required the designers to come up with some unconventional ideas,\u201d emphasises Supervisor of Electric Works Lemberg. \u201cWhat\u2019s more, instead of using standard colours in the light fittings, the designers went one step further to select shades and degrees of gloss ideal for the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

1960s design meets modern electricity planning<\/strong><\/p>\n

The wall outlets and switches of the most valuable premises had to be outfitted with THPG bakelite plugs due to the fact that original 1960s electrical fittings are no longer available anywhere. However, the greatest challenges had to do with the old electrical pipes used in the buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 1960s, electric installations used metal piping, which could no longer be used since the old wiring could not be removed from the pipes,\u201d Huhtanen explains. Surface installations were also out of the question, expect in special circumstances. \u201cLuckily the architect came up with a convenient solution by designing acoustic ceilings for some of the facilities. The electrical cables could then be installed inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lack of technical spaces was also an issue in facilities where the aim was to preserve cable channels made of original materials. \u201cThe new wall outlets were placed in casings at floor level, as originally designed by Aalto.\u201d<\/p>\n

HVAC design requires creativity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sweco\u2019s HVAC and automation team for the Aalto sites is managed by\u00a0Dan Jakobsson<\/strong>, with\u00a0Tapani Palmunen<\/strong>\u00a0as project manager and\u00a0Juuso Vuorela<\/strong>\u00a0as designer. The team has had to tackle myriad challenges both indoors and out. The placement of ventilation equipment and rooms has been painstakingly modelled, as the amount of room available indoors is limited and the changes cannot be visible in the buildings\u2019 facades.<\/p>\n

At present, Sweco\u2019s team is focusing on the modification engineering of the government office building and City Hall. The old buildings are full of surprises, and the fact that the buildings are protected only adds to the challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to sites undergoing renovation, HVAC planning is all about modernising building services systems according to contemporary norms,\u201d says Vuorela. This requires creativity on the part of the designer and the development of special solutions that utilise old structures and installations in new ways. \u201cA good example would be hiding HVAC equipment in the base of a bookcase or behind a narrower case in a row of bookcases.\u201d<\/p>\n

With protected buildings, the impact of every solution on the appearance of the building is reviewed by an architect.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do our best to make sure that the ventilation systems recover heat effectively and consume as little power as possible. In protected buildings, good indoor air conditions are paramount,\u201d Palmunen states. Working on old structures also requires constant on-site cooperation with structural designers. \u201cLuckily the structural design of these sites is also being handled by Sweco!\u201d<\/p>\n

Renovation of the city theatre to be carried out during the summer months<\/strong><\/p>\n

The last phase of the renovation project will be the renovation of the city theatre designed by Alvar Aalto. The majority of the repairs will be carried out during two summers in between theatre seasons. Preserving the appearance of the theatre\u2019s original installations from the 1980s has necessitated the planning of a number of special solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome compromises are unavoidable since completely identical new ventilation equipment is simply not available,\u201d Vuorela says. Most of the old ventilation channels made of original construction materials will be preserved, checked for leaks and provided with a new inside coating. \u201cThis will reduce air leaks and make sure that no impurities or moisture is transmitted to the indoor air from the concrete.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Alvar Aalto Centre of the City of Sein\u00e4joki is one of Finland\u2019s most architecturally notable building complexes. When it came time to update the structural design and electrical and HVAC systems of the City-owned Aalto buildings in a way that respects their original design ideas, the company chosen for the job was Sweco.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":22508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14224"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38705,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14224\/revisions\/38705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}