Imatra GIS 变电站 by Virkkunen and Co Architects is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award 银奖 in 建筑与结构设计 Competition Category.
银建筑· 2021
Imatra GIS 变电站
by Virkkunen and Co Architects
Client: Virkkunen & Co Architects
A' Design Award 银奖 Winner in 建筑 Category
- 22,224
- Verified Award Winner
- Verify Award Status for #120944
The Design
About Imatra GIS 变电站
伊马特拉气体绝缘变电站(Imatra GIS)坐落于芬兰东部伊马特兰科斯基急流的自然景观之中。项目包括一座变电站建筑以及五座输电塔架与终端结构。建筑采用混凝土框架与双层表皮立面,外层由手工制作的长条砖以锯齿形轮廓砌筑而成,并由钢结构框架支撑。输电构筑物则由三角形焊接钢型材构成。该设计将建成环境的各种元素解构,并以全新的抽象形态重新组合,与周围景观达成平衡与呼应。
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award 银奖
Imatra GIS 变电站是 A' Design Award 银奖得主，这是授予顶级、华美而令人印象深刻的设计的极为崇高的认可。银奖得主是极其卓越、极具创造力的作品，展现出其设计师杰出的专业技能、才华与敏锐。预计Imatra GIS 变电站将成为一件出色的典范之作，兼具非凡的专业性与深刻的创新性。这件赢得 A' Design Award 银奖的设计是一项备受瞩目、令人钦佩的发明，造福并拓展艺术、科学、设计和技术的边界。Imatra GIS 变电站是一件令人羡慕的创作，它唤起渴望，带来积极的情感，并激发惊叹与赞叹。
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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