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Architects: SARC Architects
- Area: 18750 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Roman Cisneros, Dan Palarie, Tuomas Uusheimo
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Manufacturers: Assemblin, Combiporras, Europelti, Fenestra, HSL, NL Trade, Nordec, Puusepänliike R. O. Loimulahti, Swedoor
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Lead Architects: Antti-Matti Siikala, Riku Huopaniemi, Roman Cisneros
Text description provided by the architects. Designed by SARC Architects, KN Next is the new head office for Fiskars Group and rises to become an entrance gate to Keilaniemi, a fast-developing area of Espoo in the Helsinki metropolitan area. A 9-story office building, the lower three floors serve as entrance, exhibition area, meeting hall, restaurant, and social spaces. The upper floors contain offices, workshops, and meeting rooms. On top, there is the social private area with a gym, café, and yoga space, all connected to a wide terrace. Below the ground level are located two car decks.
An irregular plot aside from the new Keilaniemi metro station and a road junction is tackled with a polygonal floor plan. Flexible floor plans can be divided into smaller units or connected to each other with interior stairs, thus giving great freedom to create different kinds of spatial solutions.
Floors for offices, restaurants, social spaces, and terraces offer new ways to approach the working environment. Additional floor height has been added to provide comfort with much-needed natural light in the darkest months of the year.
The bold approach in the façade design inserts the building into its dynamic surroundings. The uniqueness of the project lies in the outwards leaning walls and the faceted texture of the metal panels. These are partly perforated to provide sun protection and so enhancing the depth of the façade. The KN Next building has been designed in accordance with BREEAM level excellent. Sustainable architectural solutions and environmental values have been prioritized throughout the whole project.
