Housing on the Rocks, Viikinmäki Apartment Buildings, Helsinki District Housing, Finnish Architecture Images
Housing on the Rocks in Viikinmäki, Helsinki
24 Feb 2020
Housing on the Rocks
Design: Verstas Architects
Location: Viikinmäki, Helsinki, Finland

Housing on the Rocks forms three buildings perching on a rock in a new neighbourhood in Helsinki, Viikinmäki. The emerging suburban neighbourhood next to a river has a steep topography that gives it a unique character.

Viikinmäki has been planned as a Finnish hill town. The city of Helsinki envisioned simple forms of buildings as a contrast to the rock, level differences and stone in the facades that would celebrate the neighbourhood. As the site for this city block had a central position in the masterplan, the client invited four architecture offices to a competition, which Verstas Architects won in 2009.
The small block comprises three different types of houses: row houses, a semi-detached house and a gallery-access slab. They consist of 45 affordable rights-of-occupancy dwellings ranging from studios and two-room flats to compact family apartments.

The houses stand on a stone-clad plinth that roots them to the rocky site. The stepping plinth contrasts with the otherwise clean-lined design. Subtle shades of rendering animate the sculptural monolithic forms. A handsomely tall gateway leads to the courtyard.

Verstas Architects positioned the houses carefully to the topography and preserved plenty of the beautif...