Meander by Stephen Holl

Meander from the Air Photo by Anders Portman

Meander is an Apartment block in Helsinki designed by Steven Holl some 18 years ago in 2006 as a winning international competition entry but only finished in 2024.

It compromises of 115 apartments, gardens, a wine cellar, a spa, a movie theater, and yoga studio on an infill site in the Töölö neighbourhood of Helsinki.

I think the project was stuck until a new developer took over the site and they resurrected the Meander development.

After acquiring the Meander property, Newil&Bau restarted the design process in cooperation with Steven Holl Architects and its Finland-based partner office ARK-house Arkkitehdit. via

The Architect Stephen Holl’s connection with Helsinki and Finland is strong. He designed the Kiasma museum in Helsinki in 1998, his first museum commission and was awarded the Alvar Aalto medal that same year. After 18 years his second project Meander was finished in late 2024. At the beginning of 2025 I went to see it with a couple of friends.

Meander Sketch by Stephen Holl

Meander I guess refers to the plan completely the buildings parti a meandering line through a thin rectangular site which thickens out on the side that directly faces another apartment block. Here is the part which provides the largest block of apartments. From there the building takes a walk and thinning out as it goes, ending up floating above the entrance to the underground parking level.

Meander PlanSketch by Stephen Holl

The plan makes for a slightly strange layout, a double loaded corridor turns and becomes a single loaded corridor but enclosed so that it’s hidden from the elevations and so of no help to cross ventilation for those single loaded apartments. The contractor reports an approximately 50% lesser carbon footprint1 to a conventional apartment building which at a guess is probably mostly the work of an earth heating system. There is a two floor pedestal which encloses the shared spaces and some split level warehouse style apartments. The balconies of the single floor apartments above extend out and form a continuous and solid glass outer skin to the internal timber orange cladding behind. From the North to South sides the building also steps down at a smooth angle noticeable when you see the roof from the side.

Plan of Meander

So programmatically the building is nothing special. Where I think it does shine though is the way Holl has formally with the plan of the building made the design. The strong curved folded plan makes for slightly enclosing open courtyard spaces on both long sides of the building. This really works on site, a feeling of enclosure without it actually being enclosed. A constantly changing outlook as you move and a little bit of protection for the apartment terraces. It’s really nice and works.

Section of Meander

Moreover the tapering building is pulled off really nicely the effect being it is a good proportion at its highest meeting the opposite apartment block but has tapered really nicely to almost a point where its south facade is wide enough for only a path and car access. So the apparently arbitrary meandering plan actually gives a strong formal elegance to the whole building while addressing well the problems of the thin enclosed site.

Some details follow Kiasma, Holls rough timber shuttered concrete is also here. A nice light touch of the plan shown as a handle on the main doors. The soffit of the balconies in a contrasting yellow, a Töölö staple of colorful balcony soffits continued here. The external glazing doesn’t hide exposed steelwork to support it or ventilation ducts puncturing it, still thats not enough to spoil the facades.

I like this building more than Kiasma. Holl’s formal artistic response really sets this building in it’s site and it makes a lovely addition to an otherwise interesting block.

⚲ location: 60°10’38.7”N 24°54’54.4”E

Meander from the Courtyard Photo by Anders Portman


  1. The building’s carbon footprint is approximately 50% of the carbon footprint of a conventional apartment building.(1)(via https://wp.newilbau.fi/en/news/a-finished-masterpiece-steven-holl-x-newilbau-meander-welcomes/)↩︎


Tags
Buildings

Date
January 30, 2025