Kannelmäki Comprehensive School

Located between a large park area and a single-family house neighborhood, the school building frames a sheltered and lush school yard.

The floors are openly connected through overlapping wood-clad atrium space in the heart of the building.

Human scale is emphasized by meandering facade lines, accentuating canopies and use of long lasting, natural materials, including brownish red wood cladding and light-colored sturdy brick masonry.

The public entrance from the Runonlaulajantie street provides access to the second floor of the building.

Kannelmäki Comprehensive School

Description:

Kannelmäki Comprehensive School is a new school building that will provide learning facilities for 750 students in classes 5-9.

The sloping site of the new building is located between a large park area and a single-family house neighborhood, bordered by a delicate protected deciduous forest. The new building has been carefully adapted to the site, taking advantage of the site topography and considering the different characteristics of each direction. Special attention was also paid on adapting the large volume of the building to fit its small-scale neighbors.

The school building frames a sheltered, southwest opening school yard. Oriented in a favorable direction, the lush yard forms a natural extension of the park. Human scale is emphasized by meandering facade lines, accentuating canopies and variation of facade materials. Thanks to the sloping roof and the staggered facade, the three-floor building appears two floors high both from the street side and the yard.

The students enter the school building from the green and spacious playground. A dedicated public entrance from the Runonlaulajantie street provides access to the second floor of the building. The skylit heart space, workspaces for administration and the access to the upper lever of the spectator stand of the gym are located next to the public entrance. Most of the comprehensive education spaces and staff facilities are placed on the second floor as a continuous ribbon of light and airy learning blocks facing the park.

The lowest, first floor houses the facilities for technical work, crafts, home economics, and music, the gym and its auxiliary spaces, the dining hall, the kitchen, and technical spaces. The top, third floor houses the facilities for natural sciences and visual arts, student welfare spaces, and the HVAC machine room. The floors are openly connected through overlapping high atrium space in the heart of the building.

The building utilizes geothermal heating and energy production with solar panels. Life cycle focus in the design process encouraged to the use of long lasting natural materials, including brownish red wood cladding and light-colored sturdy brick masonry.

Status

Construction phase, completion 2027.

Scale

7670 m2

Location

Runonlaulajantie 40, Helsinki

Client

City of Helsinki