Helsinki, Vallila

Industrial and Infrastructure Construction, Renovation
Architect: Arkkitehtitoimisto Meri Oy
Responsible Structural Designer: Valtteri Vaarsalo
Structural Design Project Manager: Joni Helminen

Several repair and modification works have been carried out at Meira’s Vallila factory. The collaboration with Meira began with small investigative and design tasks in 2020. Most of the design assignments have been related to structural design tasks required for changes in roasting equipment. The journey has also included an unfortunate fire damage repair when a significant fire damaged the wooden attic structure in part of the building. The design and repair work for the fire damage required smooth and seamless collaboration from everyone involved to get the factory back to roasting the coffee Finns need.

The Meira factory building was constructed in Vallila approximately a hundred years ago, and making changes there is not always straightforward. Production facilities must evolve with the times, which has been managed with laser scanning of production areas. Based on these scans, a continuously updated BIM model of critical areas has been created. This enables the planning of equipment modifications as accurately as possible before major investment decisions are made, minimizing surprises during the implementation phase.