Project description
Sauna bathing is an essential part of Finnish culture and national identity. There are only 5,4 million Finns but 3,3 million saunas. With Löyly (meaning the steam that comes when you throw water on hot stones in a sauna) Helsinki will offer foreign visitors a public sauna experience all year round – a must when visiting Finland. Löyly is a unique combination of a public sauna and a restaurant with a bar. It has transformed an old industrial harbor area into the place to be in Helsinki. Interesting views open up to city centre and even to open sea between wooden lamellas. The whole building forms also an outdoor auditorium for the future marine sports centre’s activities on the sea. The architectural idea is simple: there is a rectangular black box containing the warm spaces that is covered with a free form wooden “cloak“, that forms stairs to climb on to the roof and look out terraces on top of the building. Löyly shows how even a small singular building can change the image of an entire area.
Contractor
Rakennustoimisto Jussit Oy
Rakennustoimisto Jussit Oy is a reliable construction service company that offers its customers the overall responsibility for the various construction projects. Rakennustoimisto Jussit Oy is specialised in demanding renovation projects, repairs and building technology work for offices, business premises and public buildings. The company is established in 1992 and employs about 20 construction professionals. Turnover is approximately EUR 5 million and capital adequacy is AAA class.
Key Achievements
- Löyly clearly shows the power of architecture: even a small singular building can change the image of an entire area. By innovative design and by careful execution the clients have managed to create a new landmark that helps to open Helsinki to the open sea.
- The entire project team is proud of exceptionally good co-operation: no-one was scared of the demanding concept but took this unique project as a once in a lifetime challenge.
Key Challenges
As the site is on an articial landfill that is eroding to the Baltic sea the ground conditions were exceptionally challenging. A one meter thick concrete wall was built to take loads from ice coming from the open sea. The vast wooden terrace is partly built on top of the sea and it stands on steel columns. Löyly has also been an interesting project for the construction agency it employs, Rakennustoimisto Jussit Oy from Naantali. “There are difficult projects, there are impossible projects – and then there’s Löyly”, states project manager Jukka Klang. There’s a combination of wood, concrete and metal which makes it a demanding, but also a very fascinating site. The project took more than six years, as the client changed twice. It was not easy to get financing for a public sauna but the concept has proved as a success. The actual building work took just a year which is very little as the faceted form is incredibly challenging.