We threw a housewarming at our new office on the October 30th. This is Verstas Architects’ fourth office. The first one was a small ground floor space, previously a laundry, that accommodated a few people. Today, 15 years later, Verstas has grown to a versatile architectural practice of over 40 people. Finally we have an office that we refurbished to suit our current needs. It is in the same address as before in Tammasaarelaituri 3, adjacent to our earlier office space. We could not get enough of the views to the sea from this building – the new space has even more fantastic vistas.

Thanks to the 200 friends who celebrated with us!

Photos by Pyry Kantonen

Verstas has a new office in the same address!

We moved to an adjacent space that we tailored for ourselves. The space is loftier and has wonderful vistas to the sea that are reflected beautifully on the new glass walls. The sturdy building was originally a storage and office. Einari Teräsvirta, an architect, professor and Olympic medalist athlete, designed it for the national alcoholic beverage retailer in Finland in the 1970s. We furnished the office with sleek bespoke glass and oak walls. The spacious common area is by the large window. It is perfect for the coffee breaks and casual meetings. It will be and even better when the sofas arrive.

The Aalto University Väre building was chosen as a finalist in the World Architecture Festival Awards 2019.

Väre competes in the Higher Education & Research category. The winners will be selected during the festival in December. More information at www.worldarchitecturefestival.com.

Photo: the City of Helsinki

Verstas Architects and the design bureau KOKO3 created a concept for a cozy activity hub in the centre of the city that enables events, seminars, workshops and press conferences. The lobby is a space for both citizens, organizations, civil servants and city politicians.

Photo: Kimmo Virtanen

The refurbishment highlights the architecture of the city hall as well as the visual identity of the City of Helsinki. Carl Ludvig Engel designed the original empire style building in 1833 and in the 1960s Aarno Ruusuvuori renewed it.

The lobby has been extended to receive more natural light. Mirror-clad furniture enhances the effect.

Photo: the City of Helsinki

The refurbished hall opened on the April 16th. It demonstrates the ambition of the city to foster a new kind of institutional culture and showcases the spearhead projects of the city.

Photo: the City of Helsinki

The City of Espoo will have a significantly extended culture hub in Tapiola.

 The City of Espoo organized a competition for the Espoo Culture Centre and its surroundings in Tapiola, a garden city world-renowned for its modernist architecture and city planning. The proposal “Uusikuu” by Verstas Architects and the collaborators Arkkitehdit Mustonen Oy and Loci maisema-arkkitehdit Oy was chosen the winner.

The design envisions a renewed public space – Kulttuuriaukio – a culture square, that will better integrate the current culture centre to the centre of the garden city. The original building, designed in the 80’s by Arto Sipinen, will grow substantially into a more versatile hub of culture spaces, including a new large, well-equipped performance hall and the expanding Tapiola library. The foyer of the new performance hall opens to Kulttuuriaukio bringing its events to the public realm.

Press release from the City of Espoo (in Finnish)

The Aalto University School of Business opens today, on February the 25th. The whole new Verstas-designed campus block in Otaniemi is in use. We are looking forward to what emerges from the School of Art, Design Architecture and the School of Business programmes being in one building!

The official inauguration is later in spring.

Photograph by Andreas Meichsner.

The city of Espoo awarded the Aalto University campus block designed by Verstas Architects. The campus block consists of the Väre Building for the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, the new main building for the School of Business and the shopping centre A Bloc. The jury valued the modern, yet timeless architecture and the dialogue between the new and earlier campus architecture and the public space formed between them.

HURRAA award is an acknowledgement of the City of Espoo to a contemporary project in the built environment distinguished by high-class execution.

Press release (in Finnish)

The first phase of Lapland central hospital extension “ITU” receives construction decision from the Council of Lapland Hospital District.

The new 32500 sqm premises include several new special healthcare units, e.g. emergency department, surgery, ICU and psychiatry. Architecture supports the healing processes by paying special attention to patient comfort.

The construction of the first phase is due to be completed in 2023 and will transform Lapland central hospital into an integrated campus of patient-centered healthcare.

The Aalto University School Business designed by Verstas Architects is under construction.

The vision of the Aalto University is to bring together technology, design and business. The realization of this vision will take an important step forward as the School of Business moves to the Otaniemi campus next year.  The School of Business will be a part of the same building complex with the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, with the two schools also sharing facilities and having common courses.

The whole complex is designed according to the same principles, but the characters of the two schools are different. Here is a sneak peak of the lobby, in which final interior works are on-going. The premises will by completed this year and the School moves in the beginning of 2019. The official opening will be in April.

Verstas is proud to have the Aalto University Väre building nominated for the EU Mies Award 2019.

The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is granted every two years to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe.