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Preparing plans and drawings
Project plans and drawings are submitted through Lupapiste.
Scales:
- Layout plan, 1:500
- Façade, sectional and floor plans, 1:100.
- Layout plan and yard plans for house projects, 1:200.
- Other supplementary design material according to the content of the plan, e.g. window and other detail drawings, 1:1.
Check that all the attachments you upload are in PDF format, the right way up and at the correct scale (1:1 sheet of paper, A4 size).
Read more detailed instructions: Creating a PDF file for black-and-white building drawing printing (In Finnish, pdf, 1 MB)
Submit the special plans and sign them electronically via Lupapiste. Once you have booked a presentation time and submitted your plans to Lupapiste, please notify the inspection engineer responsible for the area by email.
When presenting special plans, follow these guidelines:
- Documents must have a cover page with just one properly filled-in title page, a revision table and a location chart, if any, and sufficient space for filing notations.
- Drawing illustrations, specification texts, references to documents or a distribution table should not be extended to the cover page.
- The title should contain information about the building, the planner, the planner's qualifications and the contents of the drawing.
- If there are more than 10 plans, also include a list of drawings.
- The files must be in PDF/A format.
See also Guidance on construction plans and surveys from the Ministry of the Environment.
Cityscape and Technical Working Group
The Cityscape Working Group of the City of Helsinki gives statements upon request and participates in preparing and assessing projects that are significant in terms of cityscape.
The working group meets every two weeks on Mondays starting at 14:00. The principal designer shall submit the presentation material to the permit processor via Lupapiste no later than three weeks prior to the meeting and the supplements to the material no later than on the Monday preceding the meeting.
In addition to the managers of the permit units of the Building Control Authority and the secretary of the working group, the working group also includes representatives from the Detailed Planning and Urban Space and Landscape Design Committees of the Urban Environment Division and the Area Development Division of the City Executive Office. The working group also includes external architect members specialised in new construction and renovation and, if necessary, other experts, such as a representative of the City Museum.
The Technical Working Group of the Building Control Authority supports the assessment work of technical solutions and gives statements on new solutions in terms of construction engineering upon request.
The working group meets every two weeks on Thursdays starting at 8:30. The designer shall submit the presentation material to the permit processor via Lupapiste no later than weeks prior to the meeting and the supplements to the material no later than on the Monday preceding the meeting.
In addition to the managers of the Structure Unit and Building Services Engineering Unit of the Building Control Authority of the City of Helsinki, the working group also includes representatives of the Helsinki Environmental Services and Rescue Department as well as three external expert members.
Helsinki design guidelines
A moisture management report may be required as an appendix to the building permit application.
This report applies to all new construction projects and to renovation and alteration works where there is a risk of exposure to moisture in structures. Such repairs and alterations may include attic conversion, façade renovation or window replacement.
The report also applies to builders of houses, where applicable. Building Control Services will tell you what kind of reports are needed in the pre-negotiation phase of house projects.
Read the guide: Moisture management (In Finnish, pdf, 2 MB)
In Helsinki, premises are classified into three levels of smoke extraction.
Smoke extraction level I includes, for example, standard residential and office buildings and their upper basements, day-care centres, single-storey industrial buildings, shops and sports facilities. These projects do not require a separate smoke extraction engineer, but the main project drawings must present smoke extraction.
For some smoke extraction level II sites and all level III sites, a separate smoke extraction engineer is required.
Read the guide: Smoke extraction from buildings (In Finnish, pdf, 1 MB)
In Helsinki, the green factor is used as an aid to yard planning when the zoning plan so specifies. At present, this is mainly the case for new apartment blocks
By calculating the green factor, the planner can ensure that there is sufficient and varied green space on the site and that stormwater management is as natural as possible. The green factor describes the ratio of the area of vegetation and stormwater management solutions on the plot to the area of the plot.
In the green factor calculation tool, different weightings are given to different yard elements. The calculation tool calculates the figure for the yard plan, which is compared to the target figure for the plot.
Green factor calculation tool (Excel spreadsheet).
Green factor calculation: frequently asked questions (In Finnish, pdf).
The Helsinki high-rise construction guideline cards must be followed when the building to be built is 16 storeys or higher, including basement floors. For fire safety issues, the cards must be followed when the height of the building exceeds 56 m.
The construction guidelines include building cards, building services cards (HVAC), fire safety cars, acoustics cards and general cards covering all aspects of construction.
Read the guide: Construction guidelines for high buildings 2018 – cards (In Finnish, pdf, 3 MB)
