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Imatra GIS Primary Function: Tashar Rarraba Wutar Lantarki by Virkkunen and Co Architects

Imatra GIS Primary Function: Tashar Rarraba Wutar Lantarki by Virkkunen and Co Architects is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 Kyautar A' Design Award ta Azurfa in Gine-gine Competition Category.


AzurfaGine-gine· 2021

Imatra GIS Primary Function: Tashar Rarraba Wutar Lantarki

by Virkkunen and Co Architects

Client: Virkkunen & Co Architects

Kyautar A' Design Award ta Azurfa Winner in Gine-gine Category

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The Design

About Imatra GIS Primary Function: Tashar Rarraba Wutar Lantarki

Imatra GIS tashar rarraba wutar lantarki ce da aka gina a cikin yanayin ƙasar magudanan ruwan Imatrankoski da ke Gabashin Finland. Aikin ya haɗa da ginin tashar rarraba wuta da manyan ginshiƙan wuta biyar da tashoshin karɓa. Ginin yana da tsarin siminti da facades masu fata biyu. Layin waje an yi shi ne da tubalan da aka yi da hannu masu tsawo da aka shimfiɗa a cikin sifar zig-zag kuma tsarin ƙarfe ke tallafa masa. Tsarin watsa wuta an yi shi ne da bayanan ƙarfe masu kusurwoyi uku da aka haɗa ta hanyar walda. Ƙirar ta wargaza fannonin da suka shafi yanayin ginin da ke kewaye sannan ta sake haɗa abubuwan a cikin sabuwar sifa mai zurfi, cikin daidaito da yanayin ƙasar da ke kewaye.

The Recognition

About the Kyautar A' Design Award ta Azurfa

Zanen Imatra GIS Primary Function: Tashar Rarraba Wutar Lantarki ya lashe Kyautar A' Design Award ta Azurfa, wata karramawa mai tsananin daraja da ake bai wa zane-zane na matakin koli, masu kyau sosai kuma masu burgewa. Waɗanda suka lashe kyautar Azurfa ayyuka ne masu haske sosai da ƙirƙira mai yawa waɗanda ke nuna ƙwarewa, baiwa da kaifin tunanin masu zanensu. Ana sa ran zanen Imatra GIS Primary Function: Tashar Rarraba Wutar Lantarki ya zama aiki mai ban mamaki, abin koyi, mai ƙwarewa sosai kuma mai ƙirƙire-ƙirƙire mai zurfi. Wannan zane da ya lashe Kyautar A' Design Award ta Azurfa ƙirƙira ce mai abin lura sosai, da ake sha'awa, wacce ke amfanar da kuma kai iyakokin fasaha, kimiyya, zane da fasahar zamani gaba. Zanen Imatra GIS Primary Function: Tashar Rarraba Wutar Lantarki ƙirƙira ce da ake yi wa hassada sosai wacce ke tada sha'awa, tana kawo jin daɗi kuma tana haifar da mamaki da al'ajabi.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
The project is composed of an electricity substation building and an array of five designer power pylons and terminals, set in the national landscape of Imatrankoski rapids in Eastern Finland. The new structures were designed to be in balance with the surrounding landscape. Their design breaks apart aspects of the built context and reassembles them in a new abstracted form. A combination of hand-made and industrial materials and structures is used to achieve this.
Dimensions & Packaging
The substation building floor area: 965 sqm. Length x width x height of the building 44,1 m x 13,2 m x 8,1 m.
Tags
infrastructure, architecture, landscape, electricity substation, transmission, power line, brick, concrete, steel
Production Technology
The substation building has a concrete frame and double-skin facades. The outermost facade layer consists of hand-made long bricks laid in a zig-zag profile. The brick cladding is supported by a steel frame fixed to the inner concrete facades. The concrete structure consists of pre-fabricated and in-situ parts. The transmission structures are made of triangular welded steel profiles. They consist of workshop-made, coated pre-fabricated sections assembled and erected on the site without welding.
Design Challenge
The main challenge was architectural rather than technical, due to the qualities of the surrounding landscape and the history of the area. Visual and structural coherence of the distinct parts and general sensitivity to the context were methods for overcoming this challenge. We arrived at the final design through a process of elimination. Dozens of prototype 3D models were evaluated for impact in a detailed and accurate site model based on an extensive point-cloud data set of the area.
Research
We used site visits and literature sources for determining visual and historical factors that would most influence and serve the design. Literature about the history of the landscape, tourism, architecture, and industry in the area was used. The finding that had the most impact on the design was based on the analysis of the external architecture of the old hydropower plant: the rhythm of the facade openings, and the materials used in the buildings.
Inspiration
The beautiful landscape and the historical significance of the area were the primary sources of inspiration for us. The existing, impressive industrial architecture of the context was another major factor in the design. The guiding principle has been that the new structures should form a clearly defined new historical layer. They would also have to be timeless and combine harmoniously with the context. We sought to further elevate the beauty of the site.
Project Duration
Project completed: 2020
Location: Imatra, Finland
Operation Flow
Imatra electricity substation and the transmission structures are not fenced off from the surroundings and they can be approached freely. The substation is an unmanned facility that is mainly remote-controlled from a central control room located off-site. It is visited regularly for inspection and maintenance purposes by trained personnel. In the main process equipment room, the users control the switchgear equipment on a workstation designed for this purpose.
Team Members
Tuomas Kivinen
Anna Blomqvist
Maria Karjalainen
Image Credits
Image #1: Photographer Tuomas Kivinen, 2020.
Image #2: Photographer Tuomas Kivinen, 2021.
Image #3: Photographer Tuomas Kivinen, 2020.
Image #4: Photographer Tuomas Kivinen, 2021.
Image #5: Photographer Tuomas Kivinen, 2021.

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