Fregatti Dygdenin kuja 5, Helsinki

Dygden city block is situated in maritime Sompasaari close to Helsinki’s city centre. Completed in 2022, the block is made up of four apartment buildings, underground carparking and a shared central courtyard. The project’s “SunZeroEnergyBuilding” concept seeks to find solutions for near zero energy building. Excess solar heat gain within the building is collected by the district cooling system and fed back into Helsinki’s district heating network. Dygden city block is part of Helsinki city’s Re-thinking Urban Housing programme.

The block’s eastern corner is a Lumo rental housing development. The apartment building’s 12-storey facade is defined by recesses within its brickwork, emphasised by their darker mortar joints. Rust red serves as a contrasting hue within the material palette, found both in the umbra patinated columns on the courtyard side and the glazed bricks marking the building’s entrances.

Architecture firm Konkret: https://konkret.fi/