The courtyard of the building is bordered by a generous line of balconies, the grille railings of which are painted in a variation of colours. The same colouring is repeated on the side walls of the balconies. No one here overlooks directly into their neighbour’s living room.

Below the balcony frontage is a passage offering shelter from the rain. The slender, steel rainwater downpipes add a fun rhythm to the composition. The impression is like that of an arcade and such a solution in our northern climate is particularly practical: a visit to a neighbour or a walk to the sauna up in the tower can be made without getting your feet wet or needing an umbrella.

The height of the L-shaped wing varies from five to eight storeys, which brings a vibrancy to the cityscape and gives the pedestrian the impression of a row of smaller plots. A similar vibrant and small-scale streetscape can be found in the Neustadt district of Dresden and even on Oikokatu and Kristianinkatu in the Kruununhaka district of Helsinki, where the office of Heikkinen-Komonen, the architectural firm that designed the Kirvesmiehenkatu 2 apartment building, was previously located. The architects have also designed buildings in both Dresden and Lucerne.

The fenestration is very simple and repetitive, but from the other side of the street one can perceive the skillful composition of the different-coloured brickwork. A play of colour in the same spirit is given a more subtle interpretation on the courtyard side. The overheight business spaces with generous windows overlook the street. There is already a restaurant operating on the street level of the tower. As the area continues to be complemented with new residential blocks, more shops and entrepreneurs are likely to set up their businesses along the street.

Source: Tarja Nurmi’s review in Finnish Architecture Review 2/2022