Cosy meets convenience

The Helsinki Housing Development Office commissioned ARK-house architects with the architectural design of the project, with Hannu Huttunen as the main designer and Tina Ullrich as the construction designer.
 
They came up with the idea to create a façade with a pattern – almost as if the houses were dressed in brick wool sweaters. 

As part of the planning the architects had to take into consideration the site's location – it is part of a residential area that mostly features small houses. “During the planning process, I got a strong feeling that the long house must be structured and adapted to the rhythm of the small houses. The red brick fields on the ground floor take their scale from the small houses along the street and repeat the colour scheme of the apartment building on the neighboring lot”, says Tina Ullrich. As the project started coming together, the search for a light brick started - for the architects, the use of brick in façades was the primary choice. The colour and material palette became clear when a suitable brick was found in wienerberger's selection.
 
“Brick is a durable material and can be used to create a high-quality living environment. The Terca Utu Vuolu brick was a good find for the destination, especially its texture and appearance resembling spun yarn was pleasing. As a brick surface, it has a variable appearance, and does not produce a look that is too ­monotonous.”, Tina describes. “Brickwork gives versatile possibilities for processing the surface of the façades and a strong sense of material. Bricks can be used to create a beautiful surface.”

In order to create this interesting surface, Hannu ­Huttunen came up with the idea to add a large pattern to the entire façade. The combination of the light grey brick and the texture giving it a look of spun yarn, the whole façade now resembled a “brick sweater”. What sets this implementation apart is its exceptional coverage across the entirety of the façade surface, without being bound by the fundamental structure of the surface.
 
The new structure has spiked curiosity among the inhabitants of the small houses in Maununneva. The metic­ulously planned and high-quality construction site demonstrates a regard for both the existing buildings and the residents. “At Maununneva, the façades were realised as planned, and the end result corresponds amazingly well to the observational images of the planning phase. We couldn't be happier with the end result”, says Tina Ullrich.