The largest construction project in the history of the National Museum of Finland emphasises the strong expertise of our professionals in the field of foundation and engineering construction. The National Museum of Finland, which was completed in 1910, will be expanded within its current plot, mainly by building new underground facilities and by means of an impressive pavilion in the courtyard park. The expansion covers approximately 5,700 floor square metres, of which approximately 90% is located underground on two levels.
The excavation, piling and earthmoving work will be completed in an extremely cramped environment that houses underground service facilities in addition to the rock mass. During the contract, we will be paying special attention to the supporting structures of the museum building, which is of culture historical significance, and the excavation work that takes place in the immediate vicinity of the building and partially below it. The excavation that extends to a depth of ten metres will be performed in stages and by floor; the theoretical total volume will be approximately 20,000 m3.
During the work, we will be actively monitoring the protected museum building and other properties located nearby. A specific challenge results from the museum’s ceiling frescos by Gallen-Kallela which are sensitive to vibration; they set even stricter limit values for the vibration resulting from the excavation and piling work.
One of the most technically challenging work stages is building a lift shaft in a rock opening, while taking into account the nearby parking garages and loading docks that are in active use. Other demanding stages include constructing a new underground entrance to the historical museum building and the construction of a basement space within the building by means of hydraulic wedging.
The contract also includes special foundation construction, such as bore piling, soldier walls and anchoring as well as sodium silicate injection to prevent groundwater from entering the pit. Special foundation construction will be the responsibility of professionals from Kreate’s joint venture KFS Finland.
The unique expansion project will be implemented by taking into account the carbon neutrality targets; the aim is to achieve a carbon footprint that is 25% lower than the reference level. At Kreate, we use solutions that support the circular economy and sustainable development that allow us to generate substantial cost savings by improving materials management in projects, among other things. Any aggregate generated at the worksite is utilised by the Crown Bridges project, and the drill dust from the excavation is used at our future worksites involving demanding infrastructure construction. Any extra soil generated in the contract will be delivered for further use at our own circular economy zones. The machines and equipment at our worksite comply with strict emission standards and run only using renewable fuels and electricity.
The developer is Senaatti-kiinteistöt and the project supervisor is SRV. The contract schedule for Kreate is from 9/2023 to 6/2024.
Simultaneously with the construction of the expansion, the historical main building of the National Museum of Finland will undergo a partial overhaul. The expanded, overhauled National Museum of Finland will open to the public in spring 2027.
