Comprised of mid-rise apartment buildings dating from the 1960s and early 1970s, Laajasalo district in eastern Helsinki is now being developed into a dense urban district to be connected to the city centre by a new bridge and tram route. Heka Koirasaarentie 36 is one of the new apartment buildings all along the forested eastern shoreline. Heka is the City of Helsinki’s real estate company. Their policy is to procure affordable accommodation for low-income tenants who live and work in Helsinki.

The design of the building is extremely cost-conscious and regulated. However, the project shows that perceptive architects can achieve fine results despite tight financial constraints.

Heka Koirasaarentie 36 was selected in the Finnish Architecture Biennial Review 2018. Extract from the jury report:

“The long block harmonizes both with the street front view and the beautifully landscaped courtyard with its natural rock and pine trees. There is nothing forced about the composition because the site plan is organically open. It respects the 1960s context but throws away the rigid and suppressive formal principles of modernist planning.”

Location

Koirasaarentie 36, Helsinki
60.1662593, 25.0175529

Images

Courtyard side, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing
Courtyard side, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing (© Mika Huisman)
Street side, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing
Street side, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing (© Mika Huisman)
Courtyard side, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing
Courtyard side, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing (© Mika Huisman)
Street façade, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing
Street façade, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing (© Mika Huisman)
Glazed balconies on courtyard side, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing
Glazed balconies on courtyard side, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing (© Jussi Kalliopuska)
Site plan, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing
Site plan, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing (© Anttinen Oiva Architects)
Ground floor, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing
Ground floor, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing (© Anttinen Oiva Architects)
Typical floor, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing
Typical floor, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing (© Anttinen Oiva Architects)
Section, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing
Section, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing (© Anttinen Oiva Architects)
Street side elevation, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing
Street side elevation, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing (© Anttinen Oiva Architects)
Courtyard side elevation, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing
Courtyard side elevation, Heka Koirasaarentie 36 Affordable Housing (© Anttinen Oiva Architects)

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