Terminal with oblique walls is the constructor’s feat

The steady thumping of a pile driver breaks the silence in the Port of Turku where the earthworks for Ferry Terminal Turku are underway in February. Skanska Talonrakennus Oy won the competitive bidding for the construction of the passenger terminal, named ORIGAMI, and is now planning to erect the terminal with a floor area total of 10,000 square metres without disturbing the port traffic that passes next to the construction site.

“It’s really great to be building Ferry Terminal Turku. It is a significant building. Quite a few Finns will pass through it and for some people it may be their first contact with Finland”, says Vesa Hintukainen, Western Finland Business Unit Director at Skanska.

Designed by the architect to be mainly composed of steel, aluminium and glass, the unique ORIGAMI building is not just an ordinary project for the constructor. Port terminals in general are built quite rarely.

“We are jacks of all trades in construction and have built everything ranging from residences and business premises to schools, prisons and hospitals. This is our first port terminal, though”, Mr Hintukainen says.

Sloping surfaces call for precise planning

The challenging thing for the constructor with Ferry Terminal Turku is the curved façade. The surfaces are not oblique in just one direction but several. In addition, the direction of the façade varies. There is little repetition in construction.

“When you look at the two-dimensional drawings of the terminal, at first you can’t get an accurate idea of the building on the whole. At that point 3D models show their true value”, Mr Hintukainen points out.

According to Mr Hintukainen and Tom Laihi, FTT Project Manager, FTT is not impossible to build. The project phases just need to be planned and dimensioned precisely together with the subcontractors. Usually the frame is constructed first, but in case of FTT this order has to be deviated from at some points.

“The joints and finishing of steel frames are important. The architect’s handprint is also visible on the inside”, Mr Laihi says.

On terms of port traffic

”A special characteristic of the Port is good communication with the customer – and also the customer’s customer, i.e. Tallink Silja. That is important, because we don’t want to disturb the flow of the port traffic. We are a secondary operator in the area”, Mr Laihi says.

In Mr Laihi’s opinion, the Port is a fairly good area for construction, because it is rather quiet in the daytime. In the busiest times, there will be around one hundred construction employees working. According to Mr Hintukainen, the availability of staff is good. FTT employs through Skanska around 50 subcontractor companies.

“The situation in Turku in terms of construction is better compared to many other regions, because the City is building a lot at the moment. We can be pleased with the public sector. I believe that the project will be successful”, Mr Hintukainen says.

Text and photos: Sari Järvinen