Turku, Finland
Enlisted by the City of Turku, Pekka Juhani Vapaavuori of Vapaavuori Architects has led the design of Kakola Funicular Station buildings for Finland’s first outdoor inclined lift on the slope of Kakolanmäki Hill.
Kakola Funicular Stations project has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The Kakola Funicular Stations consist of technical spaces and a passenger waiting room.
The upper station is situated by Graniittilinnankatu Street and the lower station is by Linnankatu Street.
The traffic is controlled by a separate entrance and exit doors.
The canopies on the doors offer shelter to the passengers.
The City of Turku decided to construct an inclined lift, as the street running to the hill is too narrow and winding for a bus.
A transport connection was required, as in recent years housing and services have been located in the old buildings of the historical Kakolanmäki prison area.
The inclined lift provides a quick ride to the top of Kakolanmäki Hill.
The ride is accessible for all and free of charge. It takes one minute and is smooth, quiet, and pleasant.
Along the 132-meter-long track runs one cabin steered by an autopilot system, which can be called by pressing a button.
The difference in altitude between the lower station and the top station is 30 meters.
The cave-like lower station has been embedded into the slope by using triangle shapes in the layout, walls, retaining wall, and façade.
The vividly angular top station is also based on the use of triangle shapes.
It is similar to a lookout pavilion with a large, inclined glass surface, with excellent views of the river Aura and the cabin moving along the track.
The lower and top stations as well as the cabin itself have room for 30 passengers.
The stations have been built of high-quality materials: Corten steel, aluminum, concrete, and Kakola Granite, which has been quarried from Kakolanmäki Hill.
One of the challenges in the project was that the original location of the track had to be changed, which is why an emergency access road to an adjacent apartment building had to be built by making the roof of the lower station a bridge structure.
In the project, the old stone stairs by the side of the track were also restored, offering a pedestrian walkway from the riverbank to the hill and back.
The inclined lift, the stations, and the steel fences provide an aesthetic fit with the surrounding park. Outdoor lighting was also essential.
The imposing architecture highlights the unique nature of the project as well as the objectives set by the City of Turku, which emphasized the importance of public transport services.
Project: Kakola Funicular Stations
Architects: Vapaavuori Architects
Lead Architect: Pekka Juhani Vapaavuori
General Contractor: Kuntec Oy
Client: City of Turku
Photographers: Vesa Loikas