Tilkka

Tilkka military hospital was founded in 1918 and moved to Pikku Huopalahti in 1936^[2] when the new nine-storey Functionalist building designed by architect Olavi Sortta was completed.^[3] The design drew inspiration from Alvar Aalto's Paimio Sanatorium as well as the architecture of Erich Mendelsohn.^[4]

The building's distinctive mark are the semi-circular balconies, facing south around the main stairway. Patient rooms were concentrated on the top seven floors, providing patients with light, ventilation and a scenic view. Service rooms were located across the central corridor.^[3]

Tilkka was expanded in the 1960s with a five-storey enlargement, an office wing and another low wing that housed for instance a military pharmacy. The expansion was also designed by Sortta and the enlargement followed the space division of the original 1930s building.^[3]

The military hospital operated until 2005 when the Finnish Defence Forces vacated the building following an organizational transformation that outsourced the military's special health care.^[5]

The State of Finland sold the building to pension insurance company Etera for 8.8 million euros in October 2006^[6] after which it was renovated into an elderly nursing home. The nursing home is operated by nursing service provider Esperi Care and houses 150 residents.^[1][7]

The National Board of Antiquities has listed Tilkka as a nationally significant built cultural heritage site.^[3]

Docomomo has selected the building as a significant example of modern architecture in Finland.^[8]

The building is protected by a 2002 zoning ordinance and cannot be torn down or altered in a way that damages its cultural historical value.^[9]