Arctia Headquarters
ARCTIA HEADQUARTERS
K2S
LOCATION
Helsinki, Finland
CATEGORY
Commercial › Office
Docked icebreakers are an essential part of the Katajanokka shore environment. The new headquarters of Arctia Shipping Ltd.
Are placed 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 massing and customized black steel facades relate to the black hulls of the adjacent ice breaker ships.
The head quarters building can be seen as one the vessels. The interior of the black 'steel ship' is constructed of lacquered wood which relates to earlier ship building traditions.
The facades of the building are made of customized wave pattern steel profile. The gradient and abstract pattern perforated on the steel profiles relates to ice crystals and sailor textile patterns.
The building is completed on a shipyard in western Finland and towed to site.
There is a water ballast system which will maintain the floor level of the office building in the same level as the dock.
