Mar 3, 2009
HIILI/CARBON | K2S Architects
Architecture & Photo by K2S Architects
Though dated back 1999, I love its simplified shape, form and the idea of Carbonize the exterior finishes. The work is from K2S Architects.
HIILI/CARBON is located on a high-contrast boundary between the asphalt surface of the Finlandia Hall parking area and the lawn of an art garden. It gives citizens a place to sit and admire a new view of the city: CARBON frames the view of the surrounding landscape.
The building comprises customer and service facilities, covered terraces and an eastern and western terrace, as well as a separate toilet building for diners in the restaurant. The building is formed by a glulam frame, assembled on site from industrially prefabricated Safe Wood glulam units, which were pre-dried using a new method. The floors, walls, ceiling and beams of timber in the terraces are made from laminated timber 625 mm wide and 140 mm thick. The units are secured to each other with coach bolts and steel pins.
The outer surface of the cafe has been carbonised by burning and creosoted to make them weather resistant. The interior surfaces are the colour of natural wood. The stove and bar in the customer area are of black steel, while the walls and sliding doors between the customer facilities and the covered terraces are of glass. The toilet building is faced with plywood and surfaced with black, recycled rubber.
The HIILI/CARBON project was designed by Niko Sirola at Helsinki University of Technology’s yearly timber studio. In this studio (which is sponsored by the Finnish Timber Council) experimentation and artistic expression are emphasised. The design to be implemented is selected through a competition held in the autumn.
In the autumn of 1999, the Finnish Timber Council and the Helsinki City of Culture fund organised a competition for students of architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology for the design of a temporary timber summer cafe. The cafe is part of the City of culture 2000 project. Niko Sirola’s entry ‘Looda’ won the competition. Construction of the building was carried out by fifteen students.
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