Stora Enso to look for new head office premises

Alvar Aalto's building in South Harbour to be sold to German investment group

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The forestry industry giant Stora Enso is selling its headquarters building in Helsinki’s Katajanokka. The firm is now looking for a place for its new main office in the capital region, possibly somewhere close to the main railway lines. The company headquarters hope to relocate in three to four years’ time.
      Along the main railway line, there are possible sites both in Helsinki and in Vantaa.
      "Somewhere near the main line is one option, for the new head office has to be in a logistically advantageous location”, says Stora Enso Executive Vice President Aulis Ansaharju.
      "The planned rail ring link in Vantaa also has its benefits, for it would provide good links to the airport.”
      On Monday Stora Enso announced that it would sell its main office, designed by architect Alvar Aalto, to a German investment company Deka Immobilien GmbH.
      The company will stay in the old office until a new one has been found. “We will take our time to weigh the options before making any decisions.”
      According to Ansaharju, no decisions have been made, for example, with regard to whether the company would buy an existing building or have a new one built for the purpose.
      There were two main reasons given for the selling of the old main office.
      “First of all, we wanted to cut our expenses. Rental prices in Central Helsinki are extremely high”, Ansaharju explains.
      “And we are in a business where our head office does not need to be right in the heart of the city.”
      The other reason is the building itself, which was completed in 1961.
      “It is hopelessly outdated and no longer serves our purposes.”
     
Of the new main office building, Ansaharju expects easy conversion of spaces, brightness, and up-to-date technology.
      The City of Helsinki’s Director of Finance Tapio Korhonen cannot say off hand what kind of impact Stora Enso’s possible move out of Helsinki might have on the city’s finances.
      “But of course the community tax that the company pays is substantial.”
Aalto's building was created for the then Enso-Gutzeit.
      The marble-clad edifice is not generally much liked by the Helsinki public, in part because of its dominance of the historic locale, close to the Presidential Palace and the Uspensky Orthodox Cathedral.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Stora Enso again chooses white marble for main building (23.2.2007)
  Stora Enso building plans stir up critics of Alvar Aalto (17.3.2005)

Links:
  Great Buildings Online: Enso-Gutzeit Headquarters
  Galinsky: Enso-Gutzeit Building, Helsinki
  Stora Enso
  Alvar Aalto (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat