Portuguese Office Masslab Wins Competition for Mixed-Use Building in Helsinki, Finland

Written by ArchDaily | Translated by Diogo Simões
Published on March 13, 2023

The Portuguese office MASSLAB, in collaboration with AFRY Ark Studio, won the Train Factory Mixed-Use Competition, an international competition in two stages whose main objective was to create a landmark for the city of Helsinki, Finland. The proposal was selected from five world-renowned architectural consortia.

The Train Factory Group and the City Council of Helsinki organized the competition, and the proposal “A roof for Helsinki” was chosen. The old electric train building will be transformed into a 45,000 m² complex for offices, retail and a hotel, reimagined as part of the social, commercial and cultural heritage.

The program is an incentive to renovate the area through a comprehensive urban redevelopment, where the building attached to the 1970s workshop would become an integral part of the daily life of the area's inhabitants. The winning proposal seeks this belonging through a design that starts with the people’s needs. It does this by imposing itself not as a building, but as a system of uses, actions and habits. The entire commercial program is organized around an organic vaulted roof that invites visitors to enter the building and walk around it. On top of the green area, it is possible to have views of Helsinki and enjoy a small forest in the city center.

The notion that strategies and final solutions are only achieved through dialogue was present throughout the process. The promoting entity, the public authorities and, above all, the people who inhabit the region were involved in the proposal development and was a constant and invaluable resource.

The unconventional morphology allowed the design of a profitable building, suited to constantly changing needs. Wood at ground level, part of the Finnish ethos, invites you to experience the dynamic nature of urban life. The bricks establish a continuous dialogue with the surrounding buildings. The glass roof dissolves the building into the Helsinki landscape. The combination of materials becomes both evident and irreverent. A very closed area can become a new core for the renovation and reinvention of a consolidated urban fabric.

Reorganizing the area as a new financial and cultural center allows building and valuing of the area's heritage, which houses relevant historic buildings and public spaces of high urban interest. Based on a design strategy that combines traditional and contemporary solutions, the objective is to set an example that is capable of contributing to the municipality's sustainability ambitions. This will benefit everyone in the city.

Among the competing teams were Cobe + Schauman & Nordgren Architects, Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects, Rudanko + Kankkunen Architects, and Tommila Architects & Kaleidoscope Architectural & Urban Design.