Kalasatama Community House TALAS
Designed as a shared living room for local residents, the Kalasatama community house brings restaurant, event, work, and sauna facilities together under one roof. The building’s name and conceptual identity are rooted in the word Talas—a traditional coastal shelter—serving as a sanctuary for residents and a place of tranquility amidst the hectic pace of urban life.
Its roofline and material palette reference maritime harbor architecture and the area’s industrial heritage, evoking the memory of the warehouses that once stood on the site—a reconstructed fragment of the past.
The building’s massing is organized into three stacked elements: the first and second floors, which open toward their surroundings; a more enclosed interstitial floor housing technical systems; and a pitched roof that spreads lightly over the whole. This composition creates a subtle scale illusion, allowing the effectively 3-story building to appear lower and integrate naturally into its context.
The community house is a timber-framed structure, with materials kept intentionally simple—even ascetic. The load-bearing frame is based on a glulam column and CLT slab system designed with sustainability in mind; bolted connections were prioritized to ensure that building components can be easily replaced or repurposed in the future. This clean and natural material palette is protected from the maritime climate by durable steel cladding and deep eaves, which simultaneously define a welcoming terrace zone.
CREDITS
Project Management: A-Insinöörit Oy
Structural Engineering: Sitowise Oy
HVAC & Building Automation: Ramboll Finland Oy
Electrical Engineering: Sitowise Oy
Geo Planning: Sitowise Oy
Sprinkler Design: Ramboll Finland Oy
Landscape Architecture: Maisema-arkkitehtuuri PE Oy
Fire Engineering: KK-Palokonsultti Oy
Interior architecture: AOR Arkkitehdit Oy
