Kymi - ARRAK

KYMI MILITARY DISDRICT HEADQUARTERS
Barrack 102 renovation to an office building
Kouvola 1991 - 1994

The Ministry of Defence left the Kouvola Military Camp in October 4th 1990. A general plan was made of the area where the Kymi District Military Heqadquarters & School of Engineers and the Posteducation Department and Interpreters school of Helsinki University were located. In a study made by the National Board of Antiquities, 36 buildings were determined to be protected or sheltered, one of them being a youthwork of Alvar Aalto's: the main gate. In addition to those some other buildings including Barrack 102 were recommended to be preserved in the name of regional unity and history.

The Headquarters buildings had many characteristics which made the interior spaces feel cramped and small, such as low floorheights, a great building depth and deep concrete beams. Several design strategies were applied to make the interior a better working environment. Firstly a double hallway system was adopted. To make room for this all of the old walls and chimneys were taken down exept for one, on which a black plaster relief by artist Heikki Häiväoja was situated. The painting was restored by the artist. In the darker middle area of the building and adjacent the lobbies, offices were designed with steel and glass walls to add a larger sense of space to the low hallways and offer wider wiews both inside and out. Installing new lowered ceilings was avoided and the lighting system makes the rooms feel loftier. Garage doors on the basement level were renewed, automised and protected with canopies and driveguards.

The main stair was preserved, with the addition of a new ceramic tiles and glass panes with stainless steel handrails to meet modern safety regulations. This steel-glass motif is also repeated in lighting fixtures of the stair and lobbies.

The architectural solution for the exterior renovation was to add steel and glass structures to the existing building form. Added were a fireescape, elevator tower, vestibules, canopies and lighting fixtures. Vertical ventilation chanels were located outside, partially visible between the building and the staircase. The plastered facades were repaired and repainted with silicate paint in a terracotta color to a closer resemblance of the bricklayed barracks. The old concrete roof tiles were taken down and new metallic sheets were installed and painted in the same colour as the neighbours.

The color changes along with the new dark grey mettallic elements unite the building with the parade field environment and clarify the nature of the field’s hierarcy. The elvator tower is covered with corten-steel, which when rusted has a similar texture as the old brick walls. The same architectural language in the exterior steel is used with the interior design as well which serves to unify the building as a whole. The overall effect of the new office building design both improves the building itself and strengthens the building’s unity with it’s neighbours. This new unity defines a solid and complete character for the parade field.

PROJECT INFORMATION
Client: State Real Property Authority
Gross area: 4 903 m2
Volume: 16 500 m3
Architectural and interior design: ARRAK Architects Kiiskilä, Rautiola, Rautiola Ltd / Esko Rautiola architect Safa M.Sc, Hannu Kiiskilä architect Safa M.Sc, Matti Rautiola architect Safa M.Sc / Hille Kaukonen architect Safa M.Sc, Marja Nissinen, architect Safa, M.Sc, Hanna Pitkänen architect Safa M.Sc, Esa Reittu drafter, Jari Inkinen interior architect SIO M.Sc
Structural design: State Real Property Authority / Keijo Kekoni engineer M.Sc

Publications: NORTHERN FACTOR, New Generation of the North / The Museum of Finnish Architecture 1997

Photos: Matti Karjanoja architect SAFA