The Vuosaari bioenergy heating plant is the most recent addition to the Vuosaari power plant site, located by the sea in East Helsinki, Finland. Owned by Finnish energy company Helen Ltd, the new bioenergy heating plant is part of the company’s drive to achieve carbon neutral energy production by 2030.
A combination of industrial vigor and high energy efficiency, the new bioenergy heating plant at the Vuosaari power plant site is the latest to be designed by Kivinen Rusanen Architects (previously Virkkunen & Co Architects). “Electricity and district heat production in Vuosaari started in the 1980s and has been continuously developed and expanded. From the outset, Kivinen Rusanen Architects has designed all of the buildings on the power plant site,” says the studio.
The bioenergy heating plant’s district heat output is approximately 260 MW: the plant produces around a quarter of Helsinki’s district heat energy requirements, significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions, and is highly energy efficient with 122 percent efficiency. The plant’s main fuel is sustainably sourced wood chips obtained as a by-product of forestry — these chips are unable to be used in other ways.
The bioenergy heating plant covers a floor area of 16,535 square meters (177,981 square feet) and comprises two main sections: the boiler building with an advanced heat recovery system and a biofuel handling system. The boiler building’s staggered volume is designed in line with the differing heights of the process equipment contained inside. The biofuel handling section is made up of three buildings for receiving, screening, and storing the biomass fuel, as well as a system of conveyors.
“The site layout prioritizes logistics, process flow, and safety,” explains Kivinen Rusanen Architects. “We sought compact solutions in the arrangement and sizes of the buildings and equipment on the site to leave room for future projects and logistical freedom.” The bioenergy heating plant is positioned in close proximity to the existing plant and technology used by the biofuel handling system allows its different parts to sit in tight formation. The steel trusses supporting the main conveyor are designed with a compact square cross-section to reduce their physical footprint.
This industrial project is very much a visible part of Vuosaari’s harbor landscape. Kivinen Rusanen Architects considered the bioenergy heating plant’s design in accordance with its visibility: the plant can be seen from Vuosaarenhuippu Park to the north of the site, from residential areas to the west, and from the sea. “The architectural objective was to ensure a high-quality design, construction, and finish so that the completed project would reflect its visibility in its surroundings,” says the studio.
The new buildings increase in scale from the site’s periphery to its central point: on the site’s western side, the lower biofuel handling buildings are located closer to traffic and passersby — here, a steep landscaped embankment runs alongside the adjacent street, helping to soften the plant’s industrial edge; the taller boiler building is then situated in the center of the site.
Kivinen Rusanen Architects utilized a neutral color palette and a double facade structure for the exterior architecture, thereby achieving visual clarity. Process equipment and building services that penetrate the external walls are placed in a way that is technically optimal, while remaining hidden from view behind the double facade’s outer shell.
“The boiler building and the fuel-receiving buildings receive natural light through extensive glazed curtain walls,” explains the studio. “The perforated double-skin facades diminish excessive glare and thermal radiation from sunlight.”
The project makes use of two types of double-skin cladding: Large yet lightweight aluminum composite panels on the boiler building are both visually and structurally appropriate. Profiled sheet steel (corrugated steel) was chosen for the fuel handling system with its complex arrangement of buildings and structures — this material’s dimensions and characteristics offer a more flexible cladding solution. Partial perforations in both types of cladding are made at points where light and air pass through the facade.
Several massive structures built in prefabricated and in situ black and white concrete provide a visual contrast to the lightweight aluminum panels and profiled sheet steel.
The Vuosaari bioenergy heating plant plays a vital role in delivering sustainable district heating to the city of Helsinki. “Its architecture aims to convey the value and importance of this activity,” says Kivinen Rusanen Architects.
