Portinvartija – Linnanfältti’s Gatekeeper

Upon completion, Turun Portinvartija filled in the gap in the central block of Linnanfältti to create an enclosed urban feel and to deliver the unified façade on Linnankatu street that people had been waiting for.

Read the article in Finnish here.

Arco joined the Linnanfältti project in 2011 when the city requested that it draw up reference plans for the area’s municipal zoning. The zoning plan was finalised in 2014, and Arco has since served as the chief designer and architectural designer for 13 wooden apartment buildings in the area. As Oy Turun Puulinna was the first to be completed in 2018, and a partnership of several contractors has added new buildings to Linnanfältti year by year. The buildings designed by Arco use a combination of planar and volumetric elements with frames using either CLT or the more traditional pole-beam.

Turun Portinvartija consists of two buildings located at the corner of Linnanmalmi square and Linnankatu street. This location by a busy street, square, and access road was a particularly demanding starting point for the design. The three- and four-storey buildings are also built partially on top of the ramp to the underground parking facility, and their detailing and colour scheme also needed to complement the hundred-year-old wooden building next door.

Solid CLT was selected for the frame to meet the requirements set not only by the challenging building shape and façade sound insulation requirements but also for the general comfort of future residents. To provide the calming atmosphere of true wooden surroundings, the fire safety design ensured that CLT surfaces could be left visible in the apartments. In addition, about 200 m² of retail space was built into the corner of the building to serve the residents of the ever-growing Linnanfältti area.

With the addition of Portinvartija, Linnanfältti’s central block number 56 is now complete. One can now walk from the portico between Portinvartija and Lyhdynkantaja to enjoy the peace typical of a modest, enclosed wooden housing area, where the communal, car-free courtyard has no visible plot and ownership boundaries, which was the goal of the plan.

CREDITS

Arco was born in September 2021 through the merger of its three founding agencies. Our shared passion for architecture, responsibility, honesty, and courage lies at the core of Arco’s beating heart. Based on sustainable values, we do our part to ensure that high-quality and responsible living and operating environments become realities.