Pori seeks future for architecturally significant Himmeli nursing home

Pori is seeking a new use for the vacant Himmeli nursing home, a culturally significant building that has stood empty since 2019, Yle reports. Architect Helmi Haapalainen has proposed converting it into communal housing, but the plan would require a costly renovation.

Designed by Reima and Raili Pietilä, Himmeli was built between 1988 and 1990 alongside the Taikurinhattu daycare centre. The buildings are being considered for protection under Finland’s Building Heritage Act. Haapalainen, who studied new uses for Himmeli in her master’s thesis at Tampere University, considers protection likely.

The nursing home was designed to bring different generations together and was considered ahead of its time when completed. But its small, inaccessible rooms and unused floor space no longer suit the needs of the regional wellbeing services county, which is seeking to concentrate its operations.

Haapalainen’s proposal would involve combining two or three small rooms to create apartments. The communal housing model would sit between home care and round-the-clock supported housing, with services available to residents from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The building needs extensive work regardless of its future use, including repairs to its building systems and facades. Haapalainen argues that any renovation should also adapt the building for a new purpose. She proposes that the city retain ownership, carry out the renovation and lease Himmeli to the Satakunta Wellbeing Services County long-term.

Pori Mayor Lauri Inna said Himmeli is an important building, though it is demanding to maintain. The city has shifted from trying to resolve the future of all its social and health care properties at once to addressing them one by one, leaving more capacity to consider Himmeli’s future.