Iittala is an internationally renowned manufacturer of ceramics products. Over the years, its production facilities in the Arabia district of Helsinki have been converted into various commercial and cultural spaces.
One of the roofed inner courtyards of the facility had a long-standing need for a useful purpose. This was found when EFG, a Nordic manufacturer of furniture for public spaces, wanted to relocate its exhibition space to Arabia. We came up with the ideas and designs for a pavilion-type building in the courtyard to host these exhibitions.
The Tampere University Library is for its users and a part of an international research university. The Library supports the whole University community and its goals by providing information, content and publishing services for researchers, teachers and students.
The architecture competition to design the museum was won in 1994 by Pekka Vapaavuori, a Turku-based architect. The project progressed slowly but surely and the joyous opening day finally arrived in spring 2006.
Pekka had invited us to contribute to the interior design of the museum four years earlier. Our task was to design the public areas of the museum in a way that would in itself be a simplified, almost statuesque element in the internal architecture of the museum.
The life of an old bus factory in the Vallila industrial area of Helsinki was changed completely in the autumn of 2005. The building was suddenly home to a group of design companies and was named Vallila Axle. Prior to moving in, the building was completely renovated by us.
In addition to our own office, the building is home to a group of companies to help realise the business concept we developed. We negotiated lease agreements with these businesses, who together form a mutually beneficial group of design companies. The building and its new inhabitants has significantly revived the Vallila industrial area and created a centre of design and culture on Lemuntie.
The restaurant is located in the very centre of Helsinki, on the corner of Kauppatori Market. It is part of the Palace Kämp chain of restaurants. Our design objective was to create a stylish look that would feel close to nature and preserve some of the feel of the local islanders, thus attracting customers who appreciate high-quality seafood.
Peurunka is located in Central Finland near the city of Jyväskylä. The hotel has a long and illustrious history as a rehabilitation and holiday resort for Finland’s war veterans. However, the passing of time means that there are fewer and fewer veterans remaining to use the services of the hotel.
Because of this natural development, Peurunka decided to develop a new service concept that would be more versatile, addressing the needs of a wider clientele while not forgetting the needs of traditional rehabilitation customers. Our task was to redesign the layout of the facility to improve its business use and to develop a modern, attractive visual identity for Peurunka’s hotel, restaurants and spa facilities. The redesign has been implemented incrementally, with the latest phase having started in autumn 2007.
Event Arena Bank is a large complex of conference facilities and restaurants located in the heart of Helsinki. The building is an old bank dating back to the 1950s. In addition to hosting events, the facility is also used as a staff restaurant for the companies on the block.
The press has called Bank the most magnificient “canteen” in the city. Our task was to design an attractive and comfortable interior that would be infused with a 1950s retro look.
In the renovation planning phase it became obvious that the old facilities would be too small in the future. An architectural competition was organized. The winners were architects Ilmari Lahdelma and Juha Mäki-Jyllilä. GI participated in the competition as the expert in interior design and as the interior designer in the completion phase of the new library.
