Savotta Day-Care Centre

Dark on the outside – warm in the inside

Project description:

Savotta is a day-care centre for 80 children on two floors. The need to integrate a large building into a residential milieu gave the impetus for its wedge-shaped mass, the lower end forming a part of the streetscape. The dark colouring of the elevations matches the surrounding greenery and visually shrinks the building. The turf roof of the longer slope slows down rainwater gushing. To the gutter at the short end. 

The exterior timber frame was clad with specially profiled shiplap boarding and the external stair with sheetmetal, profiled in the same way. The building has loadbearing concrete walls, arranged transversely in relation to the length of the building mass. Loadbearing concrete walls were cast in-situ using plywood shuttering. And the rough surface was left exposed.  

The interior is characterised by transparency. The choice of materials and colours was dictated by the principle of the natural colour and feel of the material. Floor finishes include varnished, heat-treated birch and red studded rubber flooring; ceilings are mainly lined with acoustic wood-cement chipboard and furniture is of stained wood.  

Touching and playing with the works of the artist, Inka Nieminen, is allowed – at the sand-pit children can play with three concrete monkeys. 

Project info:

Year:2002
Client:City of Helsinki
Location:Puunkaatajantie, Helsinki
Size:1 100 m2
Principal designer:Minna Lukander
Project architect:Riitta Tuomisto
Furniture designer:Eeva Lithovius
Photos:Oliver Whitehead

More information:

Arkkitehti – Finnish Architectural Review. 5/2002. Seikkailu mustassa laatikossa / Adventure in a black box.

YLE Areena. 11.12.2007. Taloraati – Kirkko, kirjasto ja vessa.