Snøhetta wins competition for new Helsinki hotel

Posted in News on 2 February, 2017

Snøhetta has won the invited design competition for a new hotel on the Hakaniemi waterfront in Helsinki, Finland. Snøhetta’s design proposal, Hilbert’s Hotel, was announced as the winning entry following a competition arranged last year by AB invest A/S, the City of Helsinki, and the Finnish Association of Architect.

“Snøhetta is thrilled by the prospect of contributing to the vast architectural heritage of Helsinki,” said Snøhetta Founding Partner Kjetil T. Thorsen. “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. The City of Helsinki and Arthur Buchardt are the best possible partners in the realisation of a building Helsinki deserves.”

Hilbert’s Hotel will be a new beacon of Helsinki, recognisable not only for the environment created for hotel guests and employees, but also for the qualities afforded the public at large. To enable this, the architectural concept is both generic and contextual at the same time, pointing to a future while simultaneously referencing a rich history and value set. The design seeks to achieve a scale that is contextual to form a harmonious relationship with the surrounding urbanity and landscape as well as with the community as a whole.