28 12 2014

New Project in Transportation: Helsinki West Harbour Client – The Port of Helsinki

PES-Architects have commenced the design of a new ferry terminal in Helsinki’s West Harbour, Finland. The design consists of a new ~8,000m² terminal building that will serve fast traffic to Tallinn and is due to open in 2017. The shore line of the West Harbour area is currently being extended to the south to allow for the new terminal as well as two new ferry berths. The new terminal will be designed to be a flexible “new-era” terminal, enabling smooth and trouble-free transit to and from ships. Helsinki and Tallinn are becoming increasingly attractive cities for both business and tourism. The number of passengers and the amount of commuting between Helsinki and Tallinn is increasing rapidly. Currently there is approximately ~6,2 million passengers annually flowing through Helsinki’s West Harbour.

20 11 2014

The construction of Strait Culture and Art Center in Fuzhou is ready to start soon

After winning the first prize in the international invited competition in January 2014, PES-Architects and China Construction Engineering Design Group Corp. CCEDGC signed the full scope design contract in June 2014. The preliminary design was finished in November, with a gross floor area of 151 821 m2. The construction work will start at the beginning of 2015, and the cultural complex is planned to be finished by the end of 2017.

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19 11 2014

Wuxi Grand Theatre on Google Earth

After the completion in 2012 the Wuxi Grand Theatre now also became a reality on Google Earth, with the trademark, the eight silver wings, reflecting the sun back into space.

01 07 2014

Arttu Suomalainen becomes a Managing Partner at PES-Architects

SAFA Architect, Arttu Suomalainen become the fourth managing partner of PES-Architects in May 2014.

Arttu has been working for over twenty years at PES-Architects, and is currently the Chief Architect and Design Director of the office’s transportation projects. Arttu has worked extensively on numerous development projects at Helsinki Airport and for the last ten years, throughout all design phases as the Chief Architect of the Kehärata underground stations (Helsinki’s Ring Rail connection to Helsinki Airport). Arttu is also currently the Chief Architect of Greater Helsinki’s western Metro extension - Finnoo and Kaitaa stations and of Pisararata’s Hakaniemi Station (Helsinki’s central underground commuter train loop). Arttu has also been a chief architect in various educational projects, as well as the very large and complex Yekaterinburg Tennis Center, sport project.

Arttu’s appointment as a managing partner will boost and broaden PES-Architect’s leadership structure and will help to strengthen the offices dominate position as one of Finland’s leading passenger transportation Architects.

20 03 2014

PES-Architects start detailed design phase for the new Saudi Arabian Embassy in Helsinki

PES-Architects won the invited architectural design competition for the embassy during 2013 and signed the design contract at the end of that year.

The competition was organised by the Saudi Arabian ministry of foreign affairs MOFA and involved a number of major Finnish architectural firms.

The embassy building which includes offices and diplomatic facilities, as well as staff apartments is located close to Helsinki city centre. Currently a revision of the detailed master plan for the area is underway and the neighbours have been informed about the project.

PES-Architects partners, design director, Tuomas Silvennoinen and CEO Jarkko Salminen recently visited Riyadh for a kick off meeting with the client, where new design specifications and instruction were given. The design team will be led by Tuomas Silvennoinen and project architect Marcelo Diez

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19 02 2014

PES-Architects win Fuzhou, Culture and Art Centre competition

On Chinese New Year’s Eve, 30 January 2014, PES-Architects were informed that they had won the architectural design competition for the Strait Culture and Art Centre in Fuzhou, China.

The culture centre comprises an opera hall, a multi-purpose theatre, a concert hall, an art museum, a film centre and commercial premises (total 128.000m2) in connection with the metro system.

PES-Architects working with CCEDGC (China Construction Engineering Design Group) were awarded first prize ahead of numerous esteemed international design practices like Zaha Hadid and GMP from Germany, working in collaboration with other Chinese design studios.

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Press release

12 12 2013

New project in transportation: Helsinki central rail loop – Pisararata, Hakaniemi Station

PES-Architects have signed the contract to produce the planning documents of Hakaniemi train station in preparation for the approval for the construction of Helsinki’s central rail loop – Pisararata.

The City Rail Loop – Pisararata is a planned urban railway line for commuter trains under the Helsinki city centre. The loop-shaped railway starts in Pasila and runs in a tunnel via Töölö, Helsinki city centre, Hakaniemi and back to Pasila, including three underground stations: Töölö, City Centre and Hakaniemi.

The design contract is based on a design team led by PES-Architects. The sub-consultants of PES-Architects in Hakaniemi station are: the architectural design of the rail tunnels and technical shafts as well as responsibility for BIM-modelling procedures will be carried out by Pöyry Finland, the landscape design by Gretel Hemgård and the traffic design by Trafix.

The construction decision is expected at the beginning of 2015, with construction taking around 5 years, at an estimated total project cost of EUR 740 million. The Pisararata project is co-financed by the European Union (Trans-European Transport Network TEN-T). Together with the now under-construction Kehärata light-rail- underground train stations, the metro stations of Kaitaa and Finnoo and the continued development of Helsinki Airport this project further strengthens PES-Architects’ position in the field of passenger terminal planning in Finland.

13 11 2013

Construction of Mixed use Tower Icon Yunduan in Chengdu is proceeding well

The excavation of the basement areas of Icon Yunduan started in 2011, now the building has reached ground level. The pouring of the concrete structures started at the beginning of 2013, the construction process is running well. The central core and the basement areas are clearly visible.

Chief Architect Tuomas Silvennoinen visited the site during week 45. The construction documentation has been done by CSWADI in collaboration with PESARK. The interior design of all public spaces are within the PES-Architects work-scope.

The Mixed use Tower Icon Yunduan will be 192m high with 47 floors above ground and 3 beneath and is due for completion by the end of 2016.

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07 10 2013

Pekka Salminen receives Golden Seat award in Shanghai

During the China International Interior Design Festival 2013 which ran in conjunction with Shanghai Design Week, Pekka Salminen was awarded the China International Interior Design Festival Golden Seat Architectural and Interior Design Master Award on 5th September. Other architects that have received this award are; this year Paul Andreau and last year Kengo Kuma.

Also during the festival Pekka Salminen was invited to be the Chief Advisor to the China Bamboo Decoration Design and Application Promotion Centre in Shanghai and PES Architects held a lecture on the use of bamboo in contemporary architecture.

6 09 2013

Helsinki Design Week exhibition – PES Architects in China

Between the 14th and 22nd September PES-Architects will be exhibiting 10 years of projects in China. The exhibition located in the Old Customs House in Katajanokka Helsinki, is open and free to the public and is part of the Above Exhibition Series.

The exhibition consists of 30 panels displaying work from 18 projects as well as 3 large physical models of some of PES-Architects most dynamic work.

16 04 2013

New projects in transportation: Metro stations in Espoo

PES-Architects have signed the contract to produce the construction design documentation of Finnoo and Kaitaa metro stations which are the first 2 stations after Matinkylä on the Greater Helsinki metro line west extension.

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05 03 2013

PES-Architects’ Wuxi Grand Theatre received extensive press coverage

The Wuxi Grand Theatre which was only completed in spring 2012, has received extensive publicity during its relatively short life from both the Chinese and international media.

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28 02 2013

PES-Architects projects published in - “Finnish Architecture with an Edge”

A new book by photographer Kari Palsila and architect Tarja Nurmi, “Finnish Architecture with an Edge” beautifully illustrates 18 recently completed projects by Finnish Architects from around the world.

With text by Architect and critic Tarja Nurmi and various drawings and sketches from the architects the book graphically describes the design process and construction story of this diverse range of buildings, of which 2 are the work of PES-Architects: Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, Helsinki, Finland and Wuxi Grand Theatre, Wuxi, China.

The book is available from the publisher: Maahenki Oy Finnish Architecture with an Edge ISBN 978-952-5870-69-5 Date: 23.01.2013

www.maahenki.fi

28 02 2013

Ruoholahdenkatu 23 achieves LEED Gold Certification

The recently completed Ruoholahdenkatu 23 in Helsinki, Finland has been awarded a USGBC LEED Gold Certificate for Core and Shell.

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28 02 2013

Wuxi Grand Theatre competes in the Architizer A+ Awards

PES-Architect’s Wuxi Grand Theatre, China has been selected as one of the finalist under the Architecture +Weather category of the Architizer A+ Awards. Under which it is still possible for the public to choose their favourite building. Also in recognition of its exceptional quality the theatre has received a Special Mention in the under the Awards’ Theatres and Performing Arts Center category. This places it in the top 20% of all the entries.

awards.architizer.com

22 02 2013

PES-Architects receive two prestigious design awards in China

During the closing gala of China - Interior Design Week 2012, PES-Architects received the China - Interior Design Award in recognition of the excellent overall interior quality of the new Wuxi Grand Theatre and during the China - Interior Design Innovation Forum the Opera House’s lead-architect Pekka Salminen was awarded a special prize for the building’s innovative use of bamboo.

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