Housing on the Rocks in Viikinmäki, Helsinki
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...
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