Construction Dreams of the speedy completion of the Hakaniemi hall flow into a yawning yard in the yard

Sunlight floods in from the semicircular windows of Hakaniemi Hall, revealing deep incisions in the brick wall of the first floor.

Unless you pay attention to them or the protective cardboards that still cover the surfaces, the huge hall renovation already looks very complete indoors.

But the incisions. How have wounds 17 centimeters deep been cut into the wall of a listed value-protected building in the town plan? And why?

The City of Helsinki, which is renovating the hall, has received an exemption from the building control for the façade change. The incised walls are to be punctured so that the semi-arched windows can be extended to the floor. A terrace will be built in the courtyard of the hall.

Yet incisions do not extend through the wall. It is due to a gaping ten-meter gap outside the windows. The load-bearing wall of the hall cannot be broken before the assembly can be built.

Monttuun an underground service yard is coming, to which the loading platform, distribution traffic and waste management that were previously at street level will move.

“We’ll puncture the wall when we get a tense vault to cover the service yard,” says the corresponding master of the city of Stara, the city responsible for construction work. Riku Koponen.

This is expected to happen in mid-August.

The underground service yard makes it possible for the hitherto closed market hall with its terraces to open up in a new way into market life.

But the expectations of the new coming of the hall are currently flowing into the courtyard.

Hall was closed to customers in early 2018. The renovation has already been announced several times. If all goes as planned, the new terrace of the hall will finally be accessible next summer.

However, there are still uncertainties surrounding the completion of the project.

Responsibility for building the service yard has been transferred to the city. The underground project will increase the total cost of the project to approximately EUR 40 million.

Half of the price estimate will be spent on repairing the hall and the other half on building an underground service yard. The scale of the project is indicated by the fact that the renovation of the hall was approved in 2015 with a price estimate of EUR 12.5 million.

Read more: Major renovation of Hakaniemi hall closer to implementation – board approves renovation project plan.

The service yard was originally supposed to be part of an underground car park designed by property developer Antiloop. However, with the Antelope withdrawing from the project, responsibility for the maintenance yard has shifted to the city.

“Now the market park project is on ice, but luckily we get a service yard,” says the city’s project manager for the renovation. Mika Kontkanen.

second the hassle is a lack of building materials. As Ukraine is a major producer of brushed steel and Russia as a construction timber, the casting of the roof of the service yard and at the same time the new market deck is slow due to the delays caused by the war.

“All orders have been received so far, but if each batch is one week late, the delay will be long in the end,” says Kontkanen.

The roof of the service yard must be able to be cast at once. It covers an area of ​​about 2,500 square meters, and there is not enough molded plywood, for example.

Therefore, the estimated opening time of the hall is currently only after the Christmas season in January 2023.

Outside on the edge of the montu beeps demandingly. The explosion shakes the market stone, but only slightly. The machining of the ramp that reaches the shelter towards the shelter of the sea is a bit of a chore, because you can’t blast spectacularly in the central place.

It is time to move to the protected second floor of the hall. Due to the protection regulations, a large contrast can be seen between the first and second layers. The first floor now looks bright as thick air conditioning pipes have been removed from the ceiling.

The color is the original white of the hall. Sunscreens have been removed from the windows, which are no longer needed because the protection is now on the glasses.

Architect’s office The A-consultants have designed the renovation and underground facilities of the Hakaniemi hall, which was completed in 1914.

At the end of the Kauppahalli on the Circular Hall, there is plenty for customers to do. The merchants’ social facilities have been moved to the basement, as has the engine room, which controls the ventilation.

“The windows of the space open to the market view,” says the architect Minna Vuorenpää About A-consultants.

The only restaurant in the hall is coming to the end that opens to guests. It may eventually prove to be the brightest gem of the renovated hall.

It is already known that the restaurant in the hall is run by a restaurateur Ville Relander. Her previous screenings include the French-style brasserie at The Cock Barracks and the Italian-inspired Madonna in Sörnäinen.

Relander still wants to keep the name of his new restaurant a secret.

“I want to bring out Helsinki and Finnishness in Hakaniemi Hall and co-operate with the hall’s merchants,” Relander says by phone.

However, it can already be said that there will be a bar on the side of the restaurant hall and an open kitchen at the front of the wing.

Read more: A wild sight in Hakaniemi: only a skeleton is left in the market hall – EUR 19 million renovation delayed.

Read more: The temporary Hakaniemi market hall is so popular that merchants are afraid to return to the old hall: “I hope for a great popular movement”.