A wonderful gem emerges from the historic Wahlman house in the center of Äänekoski
The renovation will be carried out with the cooperation of the city of Äänekoski and POKE
The students of Northern Central Finland University of Applied Sciences are currently renovating the upper floor of the Wahlman house owned by the city of Äänekoski. It will be ready during the spring. With the renovation, the wonderful log building will become a valuable destination in the center of Äänekoski.
The renovation started on the ground floor, which is now almost finished. The house has 357 square meters and four rooms on both floors. All building technology complies with modern requirements and the house is heated by district heating, like most buildings in the city.
The choice of materials respects the spirit of the old house and an architect has been used to help. For example, the wallpapers have been chosen from traditional wallpaper models, the painted plank floors are almost the same as before, the original log wall has been left visible in the partition and the original windows are left in place. However, all the insulation is modern and technically the house is up-to-date.
The lower floor of the Wahlman house is accessible and there is a ramp for the entrance. Downstairs there is an accessible toilet and a modern kitchen.
Everyone benefits from cooperation
Students of POKE's house construction line as well as other lines get to do renovation work on the upper floor of the Wahlman house. The city of Äänekoski pays for the materials and expense reimbursements, but the actual work does not cost the city anything. POKE, on the other hand, gets future experts real jobs where they can practice construction in practice.
- Together with the young people, we will make the upstairs plank floors and the inner ceiling. First, we demolished the interior ceilings and floors on the upper floor, we re-sealed the intermediate floor, and now we are installing a new plank floor, as well as ceiling panels. Repairing an old house is a bit more laborious than building a new one. Walls, floors and ceilings are not necessarily straight and, for example, in connection with the installation of floorboards, we have had to straighten old structures in order to make the floor as straight as possible. We strive for a professional finish, even though we do renovations as student work. The cooperation with the city has gone excellently, POKE lesson teacher Ossi Vänskä says.
For POKE, the renovation of the upper floor will be completed during the spring, and after that the city will still do the surfaces, the final decoration work and the staircase.
Earlier, the city and POKE did student work cooperation in the renovation of Hiski's sauna. The garbage shelter between Hiski's cottage and the sauna will be completed in the spring.
- The renovation of the Wahlman house is a pleasure to watch, the object will be wonderful. And this is a great form of cooperation that everyone benefits from, the city, residents, students and POKE, the technical property manager Hanna Räsälä thank.
Originally the home of factory clerks
A couple of years ago, the culturally valuable Wahlman house, which was located in Metsä Board's factory area in Hiskinmäki in Äänekoski, was moved to make way for Metsä Group's new factory project. The plan change requested by Metsä Board in the Hiskinmäki area did not support the milieu required by a protected building from the outside, so the company offered to move the house and hand it over to the city of Äänekoski free of charge.
The whole house with its support frames was lifted into the park next to the Äänekoski Art Museum. As a whole, the buildings of the block areas together create a valuable environment in the Äänekoski urban area. Metsä Board was responsible for moving the house and finishing the building into usable condition on the new plot.
The large and beautiful log house is protected from the outside. Wahlman's house has special industrial and architectural historical significance. The house built in 1924 was designed by an architect Birger Federley, and it was originally completed as an apartment for the senior clerks of the Äänekoski factories. Over the decades, the building has been mainly used as a residence, later as a training and meeting space, and most recently as an association and gathering space.
The future purpose of the building owned by the city of Äänekoski is still open. The plans have been for it to be used by the city due to the future lack of space in the city hall.
- However, the house is now ready for a wide range of uses, which is important for the coming decades, says Räsälä.
For more information:
Technical property manager Katri Miinalainen, 040 532 2845, katri.miinalainen@aanekoski.fi
News published, modified 21.1.2025 at 14:29
