Women’s Co-housing Asuntoyhteistalo in Helsinki was a large housing project for women implemented in post-war Finland. The project was carried out by Suomen Naisten Huoltosäätiö Association which continued the work of Lotta Svärd Association (disbanded in 1944 as a part of the Moscow Armistice). The building was designed by architects Eija and Olli Saijonmaa based on the winning entry in an architecture competition arranged by Suomen Naisten Huoltosäätiö in 1946. The Saijonmaas were assisted by architect Lasse Heinänen. The first phase of the development was completed in 1951 and the second in 1953.

The housing project was planned for the female war veterans, known as ‘Lottas’. Most of the apartments are studios, in all the complex had originally 279 flats. Main entrance to the apartment wing is from the Lehtikuusentie street. A collective kitchen and a laundry room were a focal part of the plan as the principal idea of the co-housing’s arrangements was to release women from the daily domestic work. Even a daycare centre, swimming pool and a restaurant were part of the complex. The restaurant ‘White Lady’ (referring to the Lotta Svärd Association’s political background) was the first restaurant in Finland that was seen suitable for women to enter without male companion. The project gained broad interest and the women architect’s association Architecta was one of the groups that visited the complex after the first phase was completed in 1951.

Source: Finnish Architectural Review 5/1954