TROOLI BLOCK

CLIENT: LähiTapiola Real Estate Asset Management Ltd
AREA: 64 kem² winter garden & 500 m² outdoor areas
YEAR: 2025

The Kalasatama Trooli block is located in the Sörnäinen district, at the heart of the rugged and layered Kalasatama area. The Trooli block consists of three office buildings surrounding a large uncovered inner courtyard. Neighbors include, on one side, the historic and vibrant Teurastamo restaurant and event district, and on the other, the modern Kalasatama residential and office towers as well as the Redi shopping center.

In 2022, a concept was developed to renew Trooli, focusing primarily on enhancing tenant services, improving comfort, facilitating everyday life for tenants, and fostering community. This concept guided the renovation works carried out between 2023 and 2025.

The most striking part of the renewal was the redesign of the large inner courtyard. Initially, the courtyard was reserved for traffic except for a restaurant’s summer terrace: parking, restaurant service traffic, and access to the basement parking garage. There was also a small single-story yard building. All courtyard functions needed to be preserved, but traffic inconveniences had to be minimized through the renovations.

The courtyard renewal was designed in exceptionally close collaboration with the client. The goal was to create an impressive and experiential whole that delights users throughout all seasons. As a result of workshops, the solution became a renovated terrace area with themed pergolas, abundant planting, new trees, and versatile lighting. Additionally, it was decided to expand the yard building with a green-roofed winter garden and to cover the renewed tiny storage with a green roof as well.

Construction of the courtyard and winter garden was completed in summer 2025. Earlier, ceremonial arrival lighting was installed on the walls of the gateway leading to the yard, with colors programmed to change six times a year according to themes such as Independence Day and Christmas.

Three themed pergolas serve different purposes. A slatted gateway pergola guides visitors to the terrace area, where a glass-roofed, also slatted wooden pergola with a barbecue desk serves as a dining and lounge area. Heat lamps allow use well into autumn. A vine-covered pergola built over the basement driveway acts as a privacy screen and muffles car noise once the vines have grown to cover it. All these pergolas feature tailored lighting solutions that, combined with spotlighting on the trees and lights embedded in the courtyard paving, come alive in the dark. The cozy and lush courtyard brings joy both to those passing through and to those viewing it from office floors.

The terrace area leads into the winter garden, a small and atmospheric gathering space intended for office tenants. The client encouraged colorful and joyful material choices, and the final result with its multicolored textiles and surface materials, abundant greenery, and golden-hued lighting, is exciting and unique. Floor-to-ceiling windows in the winter garden open onto lush and colorful views of the courtyard pergolas and plants that constantly change their shapes and colors with the seasons.

Jones Lang LaSalle Finland (JLL) owns this project. Helena Hökkä worked at JLL during the project and participated in all phases from concept to implementation. She was part of the team and responsible for the functional and visual concept, principal design of all renovation projects, as well as the architectural design of the courtyard renewal, gateway, main entrances, and winter garden, including the interior design of the winter garden. The gallery images relate to these sub-projects.