Vipusentie 26

Lindroos Architects

Architects Osma Lindroos, Markus Lindroos
Project type conversion, storage building into residence
Location Vipusentie 26, Helsinki
Gross Area 125 m2
Original Building Uno Moberg 1926 
Completion 2025

Architect Osma Lindroos: The Elanto cooperative store building and its warehouse wing, designed by architect Uno Moberg, were completed in the Helsinki district of Käpylä in the late 1920s. The classicist building is located on the edge of a square opposite the Workers’ Club.

The project was initiated by the building management company of the main building to convert the unheated warehouse wing for residential use. The wing was sold, and in accordance with the terms of sale, the new owner had to apply for a change of use for the wing and build a residence for the family’s own use.

The buildings are protected in the detailed plan, and so the project was carried out in close cooperation with the building inspectorate and the Helsinki City Museum. In accordance with the conservation objectives, the facades, roof, load-bearing structures and existing spatial layout of the warehouse wing were preserved. The original detailing on the facade was restored. The garage doors were converted into folding doors: the door leaf was divided in two and hinged in the middle. New windows were installed behind the folding doors.

The interior changes reflect the distinctive characteristics of the old building. The living room spaces were placed in the existing tall space and the bedrooms in the part of the building that already comprised two floors. All materials were chosen to complement the existing material palette: the concrete floor was renewed, the surface of the ceiling was left as untreated wood, and the walls were plastered. 

Photos Kambiz Shafei
Drawings Lindroos Architects

The Elanto cooperative store building and its warehouse wing were completed in the Helsinki district of Käpylä in the late 1920s.
The classicist building is located on the edge of a square opposite the Workers’ Club.
Areas that did not require renovation, such as the yard and paths together with the old fences, trees and bushes, were kept intact.
The garage doors were converted into folding doors: the door leaf was divided in two and hinged in the middle. New windows were installed behind the doors.

The doors also function as shutters in front of south-facing windows.


An inner layer of Siporex AAC blocks was added to the exterior brick wall in order to meet current energy efficiency requirements.
The walls are plastered.
The colour of the fixed furniture is the same as that of the old garage doors.
The surface of the ceiling was left as untreated wood.
The bedrooms were placed in the part of the building that already comprised two floors.
A wooden door with glass was added behind the existing door in the new bedroom.
The bathroom floors and fixtures were cast in concrete.
The roof insulation and ventilation were renewed as part of the conversion project

Published in 3 – 2026 - Small Interventions

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