What are the seven most stunning commercial and social buildings in Vantaa from the 1980s and 1990s?

The City Museum of Vantaa is currently carrying out an inventory project of buildings from the 80s and 90s, in which the first part concerned meeting houses. Among almost 350 buildings, seven turned out to be particularly well designed and true gems of architecture! See the photos of these buildings on by scrolling down this page.

Myyrmäki Church was completed east of Louhela station in 1984. Architect Juha Leiviskä skillfully managed to fit the building into the narrow plot of land. The eastern facade repeats the rhythm of nearby birch trees. Inside the building, different moods created by light and shadows are emphasized.

Tikkurila Oyj’s Research Center I was completed on the bank of the Kerava River in 1984. Four years later, it was accompanied by the almost identical Research Center II. The buildings were designed by architect Kaarina Löfström. A unique feature of the facades are the brick towers rising above the roof line, where the ventilation shafts essential for laboratory work are located.

Currently known as Virtatalo, the monumental office building in Myyrmäki was originally built as the headquarters of Imatra Voima in 1987. Designed by Professor Erik Kråkström, the building's carefully composed facades were made of natural stone and copper.

The Vantaa Court and Police House in Tikkurila is divided into two parts in line with its original purpose. It was designed by Kaarlo Leppänen, who worked as the Head of Alvar Aalto's architectural office for a long time. Completed in 1988, the building is reminiscent of Aalto's architecture in its shapes and materials.

When Heureka was completed in Tikkurila in 1989, it was the first science center built in Finland. Mikko Heikkinen and Markku Komonen's architecture, combining geometric shapes, reflects the building's purpose as a showcase for science and technology. Image above/below/on the side.

Misteli Daycare Center in Ruskeasanta, which was exhibited at the Triennale di Milano in 1996, is a representative example of the wood construction and ecological design from the 1990s. Chief designer Mikko Kaira had skillfully combined traditional log structures with modern architecture.

You can find the report of the inventory project on the museum's website at kaupunginmuseo.vantaa.fi/en/research.

Johannes Vihervirta, Vantaan kaupunginmuseo

^{This article was published in Resident magazine 1/2023. Read the other articles on the resident magazine home page!}