Vihiluodon Kala – Fish restaurant, factory outlet and fish refining facility

Vihiluodon Kala Oy located in the northern Ostrobothnia decided to build new production facilities. To the delight of passers-by, a fish restaurant and a factory outlet were also included in the fish refining facility.

The construction site is located in the Ankkurilahti area in Tupos, 20 kilometres south of Oulu, which is being developed as a commercial cluster serving travellers on highway 4. The idea behind the fish restaurant and factory outlet is to serve local food made from fresh ingredients.

The point of departure for the design was to create a build­ing that would simultaneously make passers-by stop and be grounded in the agricultural landscape of the surrounding plains. Instead of advertising towers, shapes evoking images of fish and water were selected as the architectonical effect. The message about the activities within the building are em­phasised with graphics painted on the gable end. After con­struction the building has received many nicknames like Field Whale or Ski jump hill.

Timber was selected as the frame material both for ecologi­cal and economic reasons. The structure comprises glulam primary supports and laminated veneer lumber secondary rafters. The frame has been stiffened with a prefabricated steel frame and reinforced concrete walls. Insulation was left out of the ground floor in refrigerated spaces, which allows the ground to cool the facilities during the winter and provide heating during the winter.

In addition to golden steel profile sheets and patterned alu­minium mesh surfaces, the façades utilise fine-sawn spruce boards and battens treated with colourless wood preserva­tive. Organically-shaped windows and restaurant facility doors were constructed of full wood and lathed with spruce battens and birch plywood strips.

Interior glulam columns were left visible on the manufac­turing floor. In addition to columns, the restaurant space is dominated by large graphic elements and stained pine bat­tens of the suspended ceiling. The suspended ceiling curving to form the wall of the high service area connects the upstairs meeting and office spaces as a part of public spaces. The walls and ceilings as well as benches of the upstairs sauna facilities are made of heat-treated aspen.