wavepier
Framed by shipyards and coastline, Hernesaari is an extension of the city into the sea, an interstitial zone where land meets water. From a site that was once sea, an artificial peninsula emerges, built by man as a port to facilitate the shipping needs of a growing Helsinki.
wavepier
No longer a bustling industrial port, Hernesaari today becomes a hotbed for new development in the industries of leisure, tourism, and design. On this former seascape, a new furniture emerges from the waves, providing a seamless transition between ships and city, water and land. A grid of square timbers, resembling the piles of a pier, form an undulating wavelike surface. The surface’s crests and troughs provide a variety of seating alcoves, spaces for sitting, lying, lounging, climbing, and viewing. Together, the five waves form a linear bar, a continuous path that will lead visitors from their ships into Helsinki and from the city back out to sea. The grid of piles consists of square timbers measuring 6 cm by 6cm spaced 1.5 cm apart, allowing light to penetrate and soak into the seating. The seemingly disjunct members are bolted together with an interior metal structure of tension rods which allows segments of the furniture to cantilever off the ground as the wave crests, creating the illusion of piles floating in midair. The sides of the piles are painted a variety of bright colors, creating a dazzling range of colored light which appears to emerge from within the furniture, an effect that is augmented at night with a system of lights embedded within the grid. The pier is made of local pine timber, which will mature over its 10 year lifespan from a clean blonde patina to a weathered grey driftwood, transforming with age as it slowly adjusts to its site. On the Hernesaari waterfront, visitors lounge on the waves.
Pie
r Pie
r1
_W all
Pie
r2
_B
Pie
oo
th
r Pie
3
ge
t
u ko
o
o _L
5
n ou
L
_ r4
a
o _S
x
o pb
Site Plan 1 : 500
59 cm
pier 1 _ wall Sited against the new Hernesaari Art Wall, the pier undulates against the flat surface to create several discrete seating nooks for those waiting at the bus and taxi area.
434 cm
80.00
wavepier
26 cm
80 cm
434 cm
433.50
Plan + Elevations 1 : 20
59 cm
pier 2 _ booth The booth pier navigates the bustle of the Hernesaari marketplace, providing large, booth style alcoves accessible from both sides where visitors can gather and observe.
80 cm
434 cm
25 cm
wavepier
25 cm
80 cm
434 cm
435 cm
Plan + Elevations 1 : 20
pier 3 _ lookout
95 cm
284 cm
27 cm 284 cm
60 cm
wavepier
59 cm
284 cm
The corner pier brings together the peninsulas’ axes of pedestrian paths, providing a waterfront lookout towards both the sea and downtown Helsinki.
284 cm
Plan + Elevations 1 : 20
Plan + Elevation 1 : 20
59 cm
629 cm
24 cm
80 cm
629 cm
80 cm 24 cm
wavepier
629 cm
629 cm
pier 1 _ blanket The Blanket follows the ground plane gently, forming the smooth, surface of a picnic blanket where visitors can sit back and lounge.
59 cm
Plan + Elevation 1 : 20
22 cm
58 cm
wavepier
202 cm
456 cm
456 cm
pier 5 _ soapbox As the entry piece to the Hernesaari peninsula, the Soapbox proudly greets visitors, rising above the sea to provide a public platform that adresses not only visitors but also Helsinki beyond.
EASY 5 STEP CONSTRUCTION PROCESS
CUT piles to length
wavepier
DRILL holes for structure
PAINT interior colors
Piles are assembled into a continuous wave using bolts. Bolts act as tension rods to support the cantilevering structure.
BOLT furniture together with tension rods and spacers
SAND wave to a smooth surface
Bolts provide strength in tension. Spacers provide strength in compression. Many connections improve overall strength.
Piles in contact with the ground extend below grade and rest firmly on a hard rammed earth surface.
Lighting elements are mounted in hollow piers and distributed throughout the wave.
conditional effects
weathering effects
3 years
6 years
10 years
wavepier
0 years
night lighting effects
1
2
3
4
5