Pekka Hänninen
Hanko Bird Observatory Halias
Wildlife
Facilities
Hanko peninsula is the southernmost tip of mainland Finland and a perfect spot to observe migrating birds. The bird observatory station, set up in an old and traditional fisherman’s cottage, needed an auxiliary building to accommodate the needs of researchers staying overnight and bird-ringing.
Cities and towns
National parks
UNESCO sites
UNESCO global geoparks
Main roads
Airports
Cruise ports
Case
Infrastructure
Rocks / Cliffs
Trees / Forest
River / Ocean
How to harmonise the new with nature and the old?
New facilities were needed for the Hanko bird research station, originally founded in 1979 in an old fisherman’s cottage. The new building, made entirely of recycled materials, offers ringing facilities and a sauna for bird researchers.
A humble construction to respect the surrounding nature
The ornithological organisation has a bird watching station on Tulliniemi peninsula, the southernmost tip of Finnish mainland. The station needed a service building for bird-ringing and washing facilities for bird watchers who stay overnight. As the budget was very limited, the bird laboratory and sauna building was designed using mostly recycled materials collected through a vast circle of volunteers who also built the station. The most expensive part was the steel chimney. The station sits delicately in the landscape, giving way to the rock formations by curving slightly in the middle. The wooden facades were left untreated to turn grey with age.
Key facts
- Location
Southern tip of the Hanko Peninsula, Region of Uusimaa in Southern Finland
- GPS points
N59°48'40.3" E22°53'40.5"
- Protection Framework
Uddskatan nature reserve
- Estimated number of visitors a year
20,000 yearly visitors in the nature trails of the area, 100 overnight stays at the station
- Project Owner
Tringa ry, Helsinki region ornithological organisation
- Designer
Pekka Hänninen, architect
- Year of construction
2009
- Project budget
4000 euros
- Materials
recycled wood, steel
- Landscape type
Peninsula, coastline, archipelago