The project began in the spring of 2019, when we participated in a call for tenders organized by Alliance. In the summer we started designing the structure of the suspended ceiling together with the structural engineer.

A multi-layer wooden board has been used in the wooden suspended ceiling, the outer layer of which is Finnish spruce with few knots. Acoustic insulation wool covered with black felt runs between the panel layers. The shape of the ceiling is undulating and at its lowest it is 2.8 metres from the floor and at its highest 16 metres. There is a wooden ceiling in the suspended ceiling around the “Oculus” skylight and on the eaves of the departures terminal. There are about 7,700 m² of wooden suspended ceiling in the terminal. 

 

No two similar parts can be found in the wooden suspended ceiling

It was a challenging and laborious data modelling project, for which we modelled the entire wooden suspended ceiling from the surfaces of the panels drawn by the architect. In the 3D data model, we built the wooden elements down to the smallest detail, including: all the wooden structures, the screw holes, the brackets of the elements and the direction of the fibres visible on the panels. Every part of the wooden ceiling is different and all the pieces are labelled. Each wooden part of the ceiling is sent individually to a CNC machine tool that reads 3D pieces.

The machined parts were finished by hand. After that, the panels were surface-treated in our production with an automatic line, which means that the end result is homogeneous and uniform. The 20 m² elements were assembled in an assembly jig: the panels were mounted on a wooden frame to the millimetre and each screw head is covered with a wooden plug. These 800-kilogram elements were lifted upright, packed for transport in UV protective plastic, and then lifted aboard a special transport vehicle. About 500 elements have been transported from our production in Raisio to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

The wooden suspended ceiling appeared piece by piece

The first elements rose to the ceiling in October 2020. The 3.2 * 6.4 m elements were individually lifted to the ceiling with chain hoists and connected to the brackets at the correct height and position to the millimetre. When installing such a large roof, care had to be taken to ensure that excessive installation gaps did not increase the surface area of the roof and that it remained inside the walls. Element seams continue straight throughout the ceiling: Through the Oculus all the way to the outer eave.

The battening of Oculus was also delivered as finished elements. Its installation was particularly challenging as its shape bends outwards from the centre and inwards from the ends. The elements were lifted into place with chain hoists and positioned in the right place with millimetre precision. The iv and smoke extraction chambers, which were made to follow the shape of the Oculus, were also added to our project.

The ceiling was built at a steady pace and the last elements were installed in July 2021. All the lever tumbler locks had already been machined into the panels at the production stage, so the other contractors were able to make the connections immediately one installed wooden element at a time. The wooden suspended ceiling elements have been calculated to withstand the building technology of the terminal as well as the weight of the two maintenance personnel.

 

 

Fact box:

Wooden suspended ceiling area approx. 7700 m²

Suspended ceiling elements total 480 kpl

Panels for the whole ceiling 10 030 kpl

Elementin paino n. 800 kg

Weight of the element approx. 1500-2000 kg

Acoustic insulation wool just over 20 km

 

Customer: SRV/T2 Allianssi

Architect: Ala Architects

Main structural design: Ramboll Finland

Structural design of wooden suspended ceiling: A-insinöörit

Photographs and videos: Roni Lehti

 

In addition to the wooden suspended ceiling, we delivered e.g. smoke extraction chambers following the shape of the ceiling, a blue acoustic end piece (All Gates), a double curved edge piece for the outer eave and 60 check-in counters in the departure hall. The sharp corners of the Corian counter tops are mitred. The kitchen cabinets have a lot of embedded technology and the standing tables provide ergonomic working conditions.