Marble Palace the smell of fresh paint hangs in the air. The representative of the construction company advises to stay firmly on top of the thick paper spread over the oak parquet. The floor has just been sanded, and soon it will have a shiny lacquer finish.
The largest renovation project in the history of a valuable building that has fallen into disrepair in Helsinki’s Kaivopuisto has progressed to the end. The palace, which has been used by the state’s various judicial institutions for more than seven decades, is now returning to its original purpose as a residential building.
HS visited the Marmoripalatsi construction site at the beginning of December.
Huge ones the repair work is scheduled to be completed in March. Director of Property Development Ilkka Mäkelä from real estate investment company HGR Property Partners says that the building has already aroused interest in the international housing market.
According to him, at least some of the future residents will probably be wealthy people living abroad who are looking for a second home in Finland. Due to the world political situation, there have been no negotiations with the Russians about the apartments, says Mäkelä.
“Some of those interested have no ties to Finland, some visit here regularly.”
I returned history stretches back to the year after Finland’s independence. The house was completed with a Swedish cast iron cartridge by August Nilsson Keirkner and his spouse by Lydia Keirkner as a home and the location of the art collection in 1918 architect Eliel Saarinen based on the drawings.
Later, in the years 1937–1946, the founder of the United Paper Mills, i.e. the current forest company UPM-Kymmene, and the wartime minister of defense lived in the palace Rudolph Walden.
Among others, the marshal visited his house Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheimand the building has also been considered over the years as the official residence of the President of the Republic.
As the name implies, the Marble Palace is built from Finnish marble.
The Marble Palace represents the classic phase of Eliel Saarinen’s architecture. The building combines subtle details with a spectacular tower.
The old doors of the Marble Palace have been renovated.
In Marmoripalatsi’s apartments, efforts have been made to preserve as much of the old as possible.
State acquired the palace in 1949 until he sold it to HGR Property Partners for 6.6 million euros in 2019. The Marble Palace was on sale for almost ten years.
According to Mäkelä, the company decided to make an offer for the palace so that the culturally-historically valuable entity could be renovated to the glory it deserves. Information had circulated on the real estate market that the building might end up as an embassy.
The company acquired the building as a kind of hobby project. Mäkelä says that the project is done with ambition, even though apartments are not the company’s core business. The company mainly develops offices.
So far, money has been spent on the project considerably more than the purchase price, but Mäkelä does not want to disclose the amounts in more detail. The repair list has included, among other things, burst rusted pipes, a leaking roof and moisture damage to the subfloor.
“The building has survived for over a hundred years, and the intention is that it will last at least another hundred years.”
The main staircase of one apartment will have a skylight that adapts to the cycle of the day.
The tower’s windows offer a view of Kaivopuisto’s villas and embassies.
The details of the roof bring to mind the Helsinki Central Railway Station, which is also the work of Eliel Saarinen.
Times are changing, and the Marble Palace is no longer a home for just one family and their servants. In the future, the approximately 1,400-square-meter palace will be a small apartment building that will contain four 300-400-square-meter apartments. Each of them has a special feature.
One resident gets to use three floors, the top of which is located in the tower. We climb up the stairs, but in the future we will also be able to get there with the original elevator.
Once there, views open from the windows to Kaivopuisto’s villas and embassies.
The skylight in the main staircase adapts to natural light and varies from bright blue to soft orange. The bathrooms are lined with Italian marble.
The second apartment has its own yard, wine cellar and a two-hundred-square-meter spa with infrared saunas and a whirlpool.
Then we come to the most strictly guarded space of the protected palace: the former court of appeals conference room, which will serve as the representative space of the largest apartment in the future.
“Often in the houses of this era, the lower floors were the most valuable. They had bigger windows and floor heights than the upper floors, and this is also the case,” says the chief designer, architect Sarlotta Narjus Architect office from Sarc.
The representation space in the downstairs apartment has previously been used, among other things, by the Court of Appeal.
The decorative details of the representative office resemble typical features of public buildings and symbolize the life of the original inhabitants.
The original walls have been restored in the old elections.
The walls the dark oak paneling, the shiny wallpaper on the ceiling and other interior details exude the wealth of a bygone world and remind us of the valuable features typical of public buildings.
The back edge and ceiling lights are decorated with symbolism that reflects the metal industry connected to the lives of the original users of the house. The large size of the building is also different from a conventional detached house, says Narjus.
He does not find these facts surprising, considering that Saarinen, who designed the Marble Palace, is especially known for public buildings.
The renovation of the old building has required an enormous amount of meticulous handwork under the supervision of the Finnish Museum Agency. For example, the paneling on the walls has been removed, renovated and fixed back in place.
Modern technology is hidden under old surfaces. At the same time, substances harmful to health have been removed. According to Narjus, we had to be careful not to clean up history too much.
“Over the years, the surfaces have accumulated a patina. The purpose is not to make them new, but clean, safe and healthy.”
Architect Sarlotta Narjus (left), Museum Agency Intendant Maarit Mannila and the main contractor’s representative Antti Hurme presented Marmoripalats at the beginning of December.
In connection with the repair project, a hall with eight parking spaces has been excavated under the Marble Palace, from which a heated Kulkureitti leads to the residential building.
Migration Buyers are more bound to Marmoripalatis than a regular apartment. Due to the building’s conservation regulations, residents are not allowed to remove or dispose of historical deposits or original surfaces, for example.
According to Mäkelä, in connection with the transaction, it is ensured that the buyers understand the restrictions associated with the protected site. On the other hand, the buyers of this type of property usually appreciate the unique atmosphere.
“There is no other like this,” says Narjus.
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