Northern section’s town plan

The town plan for the northern part of Pihlajamäki was completed in 1962 after several sketch phases, the earliest of which had also proposed the siting of terrace houses in the area that forms an entity on the northern side of Aarnikanmäki separated from the rest of Pihlajamäki. The apartment buildings are placed in a fan-like pattern over what was formerly a cultural landscape. The area’s schools were also situated in the northern section’s open and level areas, a natural choice owing to the playing fields required by the schools.

Apartment buildings

Rapakivenkuja 1 and 2 are the same type as the other apartment blocks designed by Lauri Silvennoinen for Pihlajamäki’s Sato area; attracting particular attention is Rapakivenkuja 1’s beautifully folded long block.

In terms of apartment types and architectural treatment, Haka’s Rapakivenkuja buildings designed by Esko Korhonen in the architects’ office he founded in 1961 differ from Haka’s other blocks at Maasälväntie and Liusketie that were designed in the housing department of the Central Union of Consumer Co-operatives. Cantilevered balconies are among the buildings’ distinguishing features.

Schools

The elementary school (nowadays a lower comprehensive school) designed by architect Lauri Silvennoinen in 1965, as well as the secondary school (nowadays the Helsinki New Co-educational School HUYK) designed by architect Osmo Sipari in 1967, are good examples of that period’s school architecture. In particular, the primary school designed by Lauri Silvennoinen is a stellar example of Finland’s early 1960s school design. The primary school’s classrooms are grouped around two interior courtyards. The school’s circulation system is a combination of a corridor system and access to classrooms from stairwells.

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