Snøhetta has been selected as the winners of an invited competition for the design of a new hotel to be located on the Hakaniemi waterfront in Helsinki, Finland. Aimed at becoming a “new beacon of Helsinki,” Hilbert’s Hotel will provide new public space for the city while increasing accommodation for visitors.
“Snøhetta is thrilled by the prospect of contributing to the vast architectural heritage of Helsinki,” says Snøhetta Founding Partner Kjetil T. Thorsen. “We have tried to actively celebrate the presence of visitors in the city. Simultaneously, we have tried to promote the qualities, such as the connection to the water, of this specific site as a gift to the visitors and inhabitants of Helsinki. This mutual task is at the core of architectural creations. The City of Helsinki and Arthur Buchardt are the best possible partners in the realization of a building Helsinki deserves.”
The design is split into clearly articulated public and private domains, with guest rooms lofted above the stepped plaza landscape where the public will gather. The building’s ground floor will remain largely open, maintaining a high degree of permeability and access to the waterfront for the entire neighborhood.
In contrast with the rough, masonry facades of many of its surrounding buildings, the hotel will be enveloped in a smooth, contiguous white glass skin, broken into panels reminiscent of shattered sea ice. Optimizing the facades functionality, the pattern of the panels has been determined by the location of the hotel rooms within.
As night falls, the facade’s transparency will become more evident, as lights from the guest rooms will create variable glowing patterns. Each room will consist of several windows within the pattern, one of which will be operable.
Hotel amenities will include restaurants, bars, outdoor seating and a rooftop terrace, helping to transform the Hakaniemi waterfront into a vibrant district of the city.
News via Snøhetta.
Snøhetta Designs World's Northernmost Energy Positive Building in Norway
Snøhetta Named WSJ's 2016 Architectural Innovator of the Year
