Category Archives: Articles

Work continues at over a dozen of sites in Finland and Europe in the summer months

A spa resort in Belarus, several office and conference centers in Finland, new restaurants to cater to every taste and preference… Summer may be in full bloom, but work at Gullstén-Inkinen Design & Architecture shows no signs of slowing down. As June turns to July, we merrily continue to labor at over a dozen of different sites in Finland and Europe.

One of the major design projects of the summer is a spa resort extending over an area of 200 hectares in Belarus. Meanwhile in Sweden, work on the office and meeting facilities of paper and pulp manufacturer Stora Enso’s Stockholm biorefinery continues throughout July and August.

On Finnish soil, multi-storey office and conference buildings for information technology company Nokia, financial services company Nordea and retailing cooperative organization S Group are in the process of being renovated. Individual office spaces for financial institution Nordic Investment Bank and machining manufacturer Konecranes are also in the works.

Restaurant selection in the Greater Helsinki area is about to improve with the addition of multiple new restaurants. Casual dining restaurant Bistrot opened at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport in the beginning of July. Auratalo – a historic Helsinki office building set to become a modern hotel complex – will receive a new restaurant hall, bistro and Burger King restaurant from Gullstén-Inkinen. The restaurant and conference facilities of Antell Vallilan Akseli are being renovated for the upcoming fall.

In Porvoo, a picturesque cultural city just outside of Helsinki, the sixth Marks & Spencer store in Finland will open in autumn 2015. Gullstén-Inkinen also designed the previous five Marks & Spencer stores in Helsinki, Tampere, Hämeenlinna, Jyväskylä and Lappeenranta. Back in Helsinki, a group of 1950s semi-detached houses owned by the University of the Helsinki and located on the Viikki Campus are being renovated as modern dwelling units. And finally, spaces in downtown Helsinki’s Vuorikatu 20 are being renovated for future commercial or administrative use.

More information about these and other ongoing projects will be released throughout the rest of the year. In the meanwhile, Gullstén-Inkinen wishes its clients, partners and friends a happy and sunny summer!

Amer_Sports_Headquarters_Office_Helsinki_GI-Project

New issue of Locus magazine features Amer Sports offices

The real estate and construction trade magazine Locus features a Gullstén-Inkinen Design & Architecture project prominently in its first issue of 2015.

Titled Vanha konepaja sai uuden sydämen (“New Heart for an Old Depot”), the article recounts the transformation of the old Vallila train shop into a modern multi-purpose office and showroom space for sporting goods company Amer Sports. The project was completed last year.

“It’s a building with a soul. It’s interesting to see an old building change and enter a whole new life cycle stage”, tells property manager Matti Puromäki to Locus.

“At Amer Sports’ previous headquarters, each space was designated for one purpose alone. Here all spaces are used in a variety of ways”, adds head designer Jari Inkinen when asked about the cost-efficiency of the new offices.

Visit our Projects page for a pictorial tour into the exciting depths of the 110-year-old building now enjoying a commercial revival.

GI attended Finnish Business conference in Moscow

On the 30th October 2014 Gullsten-Inkinen Design & Architecture participated in the forum “Finnish Business in Moscow” arranged by The Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce (FRCC). 60 Finnish enterprises and over 200 Russian participants, representing universities, high-tech companies, construction and manufacturing industries, logistics and consultancy enterprises.

During the seminar various lectures about Finnish-Russian trade relations were given by the Chairman of FRCC Esko Aho, Under-Secretary of State Matti Anttonen, Chairman of the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) Ilpo Kokkila, Chairman of The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Aleksander Shokhin and M&A Director at Renova Group Maxim Mayorets, who also represented the Russian science and technology centre Skolkovo.

The event was organized by Tarmo Suomalainen, who is the Regional Director at The Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce – FRCC, St.Petersburg.

The conclusion of the forum was that trade cooperation and investments between our countries will continue.

Amer_Sports_Headquarters_Office_Helsinki_GI-Project

Gullstén & Inkinen shortlisted by FX 2014 Design Awards!

Gullstén & Inkinen has made the FX 2014 Design Awards shortlist with the design of Amer Sports HQ! The project was shortlisted in the category Workspace Environment. The competition is organised by FX Magazine that awards the very best interior products and projects all over the world.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on the 26th of November in Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

For more information please check

http://www.fxdesignawards.co.uk/

 

Kulmala renovation project in Rakennuslehti

A Finnish magazine concentrating on construction projects wrote an article about Kulmala real estate development project in Lahti. GI is the lead designer in the project. Kulmala is a commercial building build in 1942 and it is located in the city center of Lahti. It’s the city’s landmark. The building is now being fully renovated. The bottom floors will house retail and office tenants and the top floor will have modern apartments. The real estate is owned by A. Ahlström Osakeyhtiö.

The story is here in Finnish:

201404 Rakennuslehti nro 14

Jari Inkinen in the jury of the Office Next design competition in Moscow

The Best Office Awards is an international competition held in Moscow. It rewards the best designs in commercial projects in Russia. There are several categories in the competition and the event is organized by Russia’s best-known architecture and design event organizer Office Next. The competition awards ceremony is 29th May in Gostiny Dvor in Moscow. The awards gala is the culmination of a three-day seminar and exhibition.

The international jury has 32 members from around the world.

GI has won in the competition on three occasions.

Additional information about the event: http://www.officenext-moscow.com/

Think Corner pop-up store received recognition

Gullstén-Inkinen designed the University of Helsinki’s Think Corner pop-store that received a university society award.  The Society of Interaction Council granted the award.  The Council consists of university students, staff members, and the university’s major partners.

Think Corner is a unique, candid and innovative project. The first Think Corner was completed in February 2012 during the Helsinki World Design Capital year.

The Think Corner pop-up store operates as a bookstore, café and discussion and event venue. They have even had a variety of exercise and craft events. Think Corner has formed its own regular client base.

GI designed the earlier Think Corner shop as well.

More information: http://uutiset.helsinki.fi/2013/12/10/tiedekulma-palkittiin/#.Uql3rfRdV7g