Ark-byroo was hired to prepared a building history survey and brand book for Autotalo in Kamppi, Helsinki to support the refurbishment of the building. The property owner’s aim was to raise the public profile of the building and renovate its building services systems. The timeless elegance of the building’s architecture was identified as an asset that was exploited in the brand development. After the renovation, the building history survey was completed by interviewing key players in the renovation and transformation project.
When it was completed in 1958, the Autotalo was one of the most modern commercial buildings in Helsinki, paving the way for the city centre’s new direction of growth towards Kamppi. Autotalo was built by Korpivaara Ltd and Veho Ltd, the successful car dealers of post-war Finland, and a number of other companies, including consumer goods importer Trans-Meri, advertising agency Taucher and Primula’s bakery and confectionery.
The office building, with two 12-storey towers and three ground floors, was a huge project at the time, and the daily newspapers followed its progress. It was designed by architects Eino Tuompo and Veli Valovirta, who chose modern aluminium for the façade, equipped the building with modern technical solutions and clad the lobbies in marble and granite. On the second floor, between the towers, the restaurant Lido was placed at the cutting edge of modern design.
Car dealers moved closer to the Ring III motorway in the 1980s. The recession of the 1990s attracted, among other things, obscure pubs to the vacant premises of the Autotalo. The dilapidated property was not appealing to good tenants and rents fell. The commercial building, which was suffering from renovation debt, was renovated between 2011 and 2015. At the same time, the building’s branding was sharpened. Now it has reclaimed its place as one of Kamppi’s key commercial buildings.
