Katajanokan Laituri Wood Office and Hotel Building / Anttinen Oiva Architects

Katajanokan Laituri is a solid wood office and hotel building that sets an example in the possibilities of wood construction in a sensitive urban environment. As the first new building on the formerly industrial Katajanokka waterfront that directly connects to Helsinki's iconic maritime cityscape, Katajanokan Laituri spearheads the transition of this embankment into an open urban space accessible to all. It continues the uniform, neo-classical silhouette of Helsinki along its southern waterfront, while the meandering shapes of its façade break its scale, connecting it to the diverse and layered building stock of the Katajanokka peninsula. A double-structure on the façade with an outer layer of glass, aluminum, and granite that protects the exposed wood structures from the maritime weather connects the building to the wider cityscape and gives it a unique character that changes with the time of day and the four seasons.