Architect
SARC Architects
Competition
1995
Completion
1999
Gross area
43000 m²
Themes
Highlights in Helsinki Centre
Category
Commercial buildings Office buildings
Tags
glass steel
More

Sanoma Headquarters

In 1995, Finland’s largest media group, Sanoma Corporation, organised an invited architectural competition for their new headquarters in the Töölönlahti Bay area in the heart of Helsinki. The site next to Helsinki Railway Station by Eliel Saarinen (1919), the functionalist Post Headquarters by Kaarlo Borg, Jorma Järvi and Erik Lindroos (1938) and Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art by Steven Holl (1998) then under construction.

The winning entry by SARC Architects was implemented and completed in 1999. The translucent glass building was a forerunner of the new international trend of glass architecture in Finland. The big-scale use of glass underlines the openness and lightness of the building. The nine-storey high Sanoma House is home to the editorial offices of three newspapers, Helsingin Sanomat, Ilta-Sanomat and Taloussanomat. It also offers workplace for over 1,000 people. On the first two floors, there are commercial spaces with shops, galleries and restaurants along a pedestrian passage cutting diagonally through the building. The basement levels contain delivery and technical spaces as well as a parking hall.

In the 2010s, the Töölönlahti Bay area around Sanoma Headquarters has been completed with corporate headquarters and cultural institutions.

Location

Töölönlahdenkatu 2, Helsinki
60.17243, 24.9380116

Images

Facade, Sanoma Headquarters
Facade, Sanoma Headquarters (© SARC Architects)
Interior, Sanoma Headquarters
Interior, Sanoma Headquarters (© SARC Architects)
Interior, Sanoma Headquarters
Interior, Sanoma Headquarters (© SARC Architects)

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