Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2012 | Page 20

people transferring from one mode of transport to another. The upper floors will accommodate stores and services related to interior decoration, the home, fashion, and leisure. The centre will also have an area dedicated to exhibitions and events.
Nieminen adds that various restaurants
will come to the centre – in a form of, for instance, a food court area with fast-food restaurants and a restaurant section consisting
of restaurants of different sizes and price categories. The restaurant section is also looking to incorporate a fresh-food market in accordance to international trends.
“The City of Helsinki has wholesale
market available next door and we’re looking to explore synergies between the two.”

Wanted: Flexpertise
In the Kalasatama project, SRV works with
Pekka Helin & Co Architects in architec-

tural design, Sito in infrastructure design
and Destia in infrastructure construction.
The construction is already under way with
earth works, rock blasting and excavation as
well as with street and bridge construction
necessary for the temporary traffic arrangements, says Kalasatama Centre Project Director Juhani Katko. He believes that SRV
Model will be a key factor for the success
of the project:
“Long-term projects require a great
deal of flexibility and the model makes it
possible,” Katko says.
Discussing the special characteristics
of the Kalasatama project, Katko notes that
it is rare to see such a diverse package being constructed in a hub location. He confirms that the company is looking to create
something new and exciting here:
“There will be plenty of differentiating factors,” Katko promises.
The aim is that the first part of the

commercial centre, the health centre, the
infrastructure and the first residential tower will be completed early 2016. The rest
of the premises will be build stage by stage
depending on the market situation by 2021.

Perfect Mix
And what kind of an example will Kalasatama set for the industry in 2010s – and beyond? Tower and hybrid construction have
been hot topics lately, but Timo Nieminen
counters by saying that high-rise towers are
but one way to promote hybrid construction
– Kamppi Center is very much a hybrid, too,
but with little vertical aspirations.
“In Kalasatama, we want to take this
concept and push it even further: get different functions to interact with each other in a
brand new way. We want to look at the big
picture here,” Nieminen says.

Photo: Helin & Co Architects

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