Hangon Laituri

Hangon Laituri is an apartment complex that is going to be built in Hanko’s new Kuningattarenvuori district. The project’s first log-structured buildings are already complete, but the district is still very much under construction. In the next three years, a total of ten low-rise, multi-storey buildings will be built there from solid wood.

Read the article in Finnish: Hangon Laituri

Hanko Pier is spread over a total of 4 plots of land in Hanko’s Itäsatama, and there are plans for a total of 10 low-rise multi-storey buildings. The project applied for an exemption from the municipal plan for the plot layout so that the buildings could face the sea as much as possible and the common yard areas would simply fall in place between the buildings. The first two buildings are already complete, and building permits have been obtained for the remaining eight. Located on prime Hanko real estate, the wooden construction needed to be of very high quality.

The exterior design of the buildings is straightforward – modern yet expressive. The individually designed canopies of the balconies and the eaveless portions of the building ends add life to the structure, as do the facades’ vertical wooden panels of varying widths. In accordance with the municipal plan’s requirements, the exteriors are light in colour. Thanks to the gentle slope of the gable roof, even the houses further back are able to enjoy pleasant views.

Large glazed balconies facing the sea give each apartment a year-round outdoor space, and some ground floor apartments have their own garden. Floor plans are apartment specific to maximise the sea views and accommodate customer wishes. Almost all apartments enjoy a view of the sea. The log frame is visible indoors in parts of the building, simultaneously improving acoustics and providing the atmosphere of a genuine wooden house. As a material, log makes the homes easy on the eyes and pleasant to the touch. It also helps keep the indoor air clean.

With such a location in the archipelago, environmental issues have of course been taken into account, not only in the chosen materials but also the energy sources: the apartments use geothermal heat for both heating and cooling.

Technical solutions

The entire load-bearing frame is wood. Mostly constructed from non-settling timber, the building’s outer shell serves as a load-bearing frame. The basement, on the other hand, is built entirely from concrete blocks and houses the technical facilities, civil defence shelter and storage spaces for outdoor sports equipment and personal belongings. Entrances are placed directly on top of the basement, and the remaining intermediate floors are wood.

Building on the windy coast meant that wooden structural details needed to be designed well, and structures needed to account for flooding. Load-bearing and stiffening structures needed to withstand wind loads, and the detailing of the eaves had to prevent horizontal rain from reaching the structures.

Both buildings are made of volumetric elements, where logs are used for the outer walls and CLT is used for the intermediate walls and floors.

Construction itself was quick as the large prefabricated wooden elements were easy to assemble and stayed safe from the weather under the building roof. The team also prioritised sound insulation, especially in element joints and the intermediate floor structure.

According to acoustic measurements, the sound insulation between apartments is indeed excellent, and this has also been the feedback from residents. Vibration insulation of the frame’s joints between neighbouring apartments was of particular importance.

Fire protection is achieved with gypsum boards indoors and fireproof paint on the exterior cladding.

Construction project

Once the vision of log apartment buildings by the sea was clear, the developer kicked off discussions with the contractor and log supplier in autumn 2019. Actual planning started in the spring of 2020.

The manufacture of the log elements began in August. On-site work began with the foundations in September 2020 and moved onto volumetric element installation in March 2021. The project was ready for handover in June 2021.

For the developer, having a contractor it could trust was key. With plenty of construction projects already under its belt, the developer knew to expect surprises along the way. The contractor proved more than capable of carrying their weight. From the installer working on the building to the top management, the contractor’s personnel immediately took responsibility for any errors and rectified them.

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