Snøhetta to design new waterfront Helsinki Hotel

Just a few weeks after their Treehotel in Sweden welcomed its first guests, Snøhetta will be designing another swanky-looking hotel in Scandinavia. In an announcement today, Snøhetta revealed that they won the invited competition to design the new Helsinki Hotel, which will be built next to the city's Hakaniemi waterfront. 

Snøhetta focused on creating a clear distinction between private and public space, as well as coming up with a structure that has a “harmonious relationship” with its surrounding urban landscape and communities. Their winning scheme titled “Hilbert's Hotel” includes the hotel rooms, restaurants, bars, outdoor seating, and rooftop terraces, all enveloped within a sleek paneled exterior that was inspired by the appearance of broken ice in the sea. A timeline for the project is yet to be announced.

Scroll down for a first glimpse of the scheme.

“Snøhetta is thrilled by the prospect of contributing to the vast architectural heritage of Helsinki. We have tried to actively celebrate the presence of visitors in the city. Simultaneously, we have tried to promote the qualities, such as the connection to the water, of this specific site as a gift to the visitors and inhabitants of Helsinki. This mutual task is at the core of architectural creations...”, said Snøhetta Founding Partner Kjetil T. Thorsen in a statement.

The public domain forms the foundation of the hotel, while the private domain — the hotel rooms — are lofted above the stepped plaza landscape, Snøhetta describes.The hotel rooms “are enveloped in a smooth contiguous white glass skin that is in direct contrast to the surrounding, heavily punched masonry facades. The panelization of the facades, reminiscent of broken sea ice, is expressed by small joints...The external appearance shifts as the hotel is used throughout the day. Façade transparency becomes apparent with guest occupancy, whilst at the same time maintaining the contiguous monochromatic surface pattern. Each room has a number of windows within this pattern.”

Images and project text courtesy of Snøhetta.