"Sausage building’s" parking ramps may be demolished after all

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The National Board of Antiquities is not demanding that the controversial parking ramps in Helsinki’s famous (or infamous) "Sausage Building" have to be preserved, according a new statement by the Board.
      The National Board of Antiquities issued a statement on the preservation of the parking ramps at the beginning of December. The unclear wording of the statement prompted a dispute over how it was to be interpreted.
      According to the statement, "the parking ramps are an essential part of the architecture of the building and it is important to preserve them".
      "The wording of the statement is a result of an animated discussion at a special meeting between the Board and a representative of the Finnish National Museum. However, the Board of Antiquities does not demand that the ramps have to be preserved. It was a conscious decision to draw up the statement using those words", explains Heikki Halttunen of the National Board of Antiquities.
      According to Halttunen, the Board of Antiquities is not likely to make a complaint if the City allows the real estate company Sponda, which owns the building, to demolish the ramps. Moreover, Halttunen does not see any reason to preserve the "sausages" either. "I cannot understand why we should preserve something that was not even the original meaning of the architect who designed the building", he says.
     
In practice, the City of Helsinki  and the real estate company Sponda have already agreed on the demolition of the ramps. It is very important to Sponda, as the company has already planned renovations of over EUR 100 million for the property.
      Basically the bulbuous, sausage-like bands of concrete running horizontally around the facade are in a good shape and can be repaired, provided that some sensible use can be found for the "sausage", says Senior Vice President Veikko Majava of Sponda. He adds that the "sausage" has no great economic value.
     
The City Center block plan is on display at the City Planning Department. The citizens of Helsinki may give their comments on the plan until the end of the year.
      By the beginning of the current week there had been no comments whatsoever.
      One tongue-in-cheek letter to the editors of Helsingin Sanomat has suggested the ramps be converted for use as children's slides, but this is unlikely to win much support from Sponda.
      The new plan is scheduled for release in February 2005.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Parking ramps threaten to halt plans for Helsinki pedestrian centre (10.12.2004)

Helsingin Sanomat