Kala Hoʻolālā Hale · 2021
Imatra GIS Hana Nui: Kikowaena Uila
by Virkkunen and Co Architects
- A' Design Award Kala 2021 in Hoʻolālā Hale
- CLIENT: Virkkunen & Co Architects
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 22,224
- Verification code DBFD899149 · Verify this award
Colors
About Imatra GIS Hana Nui: Kikowaena Uila
Book Text: ʻO Imatra GIS he kikowaena hoʻopuka uila i hoʻonoho ʻia ma ka ʻāina o nā wailele o Imatrankoski ma ka Hikina o Finelani. Aia i loko o kēia papahana kekahi hale kikowaena a me ʻelima mau kia mana a me nā waihona. He kihoʻiʻoli konekerete ko ka hale a me nā alo pālua. Hana ʻia ka papa waho me nā pōhaku ulaʻula lōʻihi i hana lima ʻia a i kau ʻia me ka ʻano zig-zag a kākoʻo ʻia e ke kihoʻiʻoli kila. Hana ʻia nā hakahaka hoʻoili me nā ʻano kila kuʻikuʻi huinakolu. Ke wāwahi nei ka hoʻolālā i nā ʻano o ke kaiapuni i kūkulu ʻia a hui hou i nā mea i loko o kekahi ʻano hou i hoʻokaʻawale ʻia, i ke kaulike me ka ʻāina a puni.
About the A' Design Award Kala
Ua lanakila ka hoʻolālā Imatra GIS Hana Nui: Kikowaena Uila i ka A' Design Award Kala, he ʻike hoʻohanohano nui loa i hāʻawi ʻia i nā hoʻolālā kiʻekiʻe loa, nani a kupaianaha. He mau hana ʻālohilohi loa a hana noʻeau nui nā lanakila Kala e hōʻike ana i ka loea, ka makakoho a me ka ʻoi aku o ka noʻonoʻo o kā lākou poʻe hoʻolālā. Manaʻo ʻia ʻo ka hoʻolālā Imatra GIS Hana Nui: Kikowaena Uila he hana kupaianaha, kūlana ʻoi aku, ʻoihana kiʻekiʻe a hou loa. ʻO kēia hoʻolālā i lanakila i ka A' Design Award Kala he mea hoʻokumu kūpono loa, mahalo ʻia e hāʻawi i ka pōmaikaʻi a hoʻoneʻe i nā palena o ka hana noʻeau, ka ʻepekema, ka hoʻolālā a me ka ʻenehana. He mea i ʻeleu ʻia e nā mea he nui ka hoʻolālā Imatra GIS Hana Nui: Kikowaena Uila e hoʻāla i ka makemake, lawe mai i nā manaʻo maikaʻi a hoʻāla i ka kamahaʻo a me ka mahalo.
Press Kit
- 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.
- 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.
