Icebreakers Head Quarters

Project Description

Docked icebreakers are an essential aspect of the Katajanokka shore environment. The new headquarters of Arctia Shipping Ltd. will be housed in a floating office building in front of the listed main building of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was originally designed by C.L.Engel.
The horizontal volume and customised black steel façades relate to the black hulls of the adjacent icebreaker ships. The headquarters building has the appearance of one of the vessels. The interior of the black “steel ship” is constructed of lacquered wood, relating to earlier shipbuilding traditions. The façades of the building are made of customised steel profiles in a waved pattern. There is an abstract pattern perforated into the steel profiles, reminiscent of ice crystals and maritime textile patterns.
The building will be completed on a shipyard in western Finland and towed to the site. There is a water ballast system that will maintain the floor level of the office building at the same level as the dock.