Masu has been an active part of LATU, a multidisciplinary design team responsible for planning a new hospital in Laakso, Helsinki. The area has significant historical and landscape values, which have been used as guiding principles for the design proposal.

Laakso Hospital in Töölö, Helsinki, was built in the 1920s as a tuberculosis sanatorium. It followed the design ideals of the time, with tall pavilion buildings surrounded by a generous amount of natural greenery. According to the City of Helsinki and HUS Hospital District of Helsinki

and Uusimaa, current plans intend to transform the historical hospital area into a hub for psychiatric care and offer specialised neurological rehabilitation.

We have been working closely with the users in developing the new proposal. The new design respects the existing site’s cultural significance preserves the existing hospital pavilions and gathers the new functions along the old central axis, thus enhancing the area’s distinct character.

See the full announcement from the City of Helsinki here (in Finnish).