The apartment buildings at Paraistentie 18–20 in Ruskeasuo, owned by the Helsinki Student Housing Foundation (Hoas), were completed following a comprehensive renovation in the fall of 2025. An extensive renovation project was carried out on the two buildings, improving living comfort and energy efficiency and renovating the building facades.
This was a major and comprehensive renovation project, made even more challenging by the fact that the newer buildings on the same site remained occupied throughout the project. This placed special demands on site organization, safety, and communication. In addition, an extensive water main network renovation underway in the area at the same time restricted transportation and presented its own challenges to day-to-day operations on the site. According to Project Manager Laura Pääkkönen, the success of the project required both close cooperation among the various parties and effective management of the implementation.
The renovation of the project’s facades and balconies utilized solutions from two Finnish companies, emphasizing durability, energy efficiency, and a visually appealing final result.
Energy efficiency without demolition
At the Paraistentie site, the BRIX system proved to be an effective solution, as it could be installed directly over the existing facade. This meant that the old structures did not need to be demolished, resulting in savings on both demolition work and waste disposal costs. At the same time, additional thermal insulation was added to the building, significantly improving energy efficiency and living conditions.
According to Pääkkönen, the energy efficiency of the property improved significantly compared to before. The E-value for House 3 dropped from 184 to 85, and for House 4 from 193 to 87. Several factors contributed to the improvement in these values, such as additional thermal insulation of the facades, the switch to mechanical ventilation, and the use of solar power.
However, the significance of the facade solution was not limited to energy efficiency. The prefabricated nature of the BRIX system enabled rapid installation, brought predictability to the project, and ensured consistent quality. These factors are particularly important when renovation work is carried out on a tight schedule and in a residential area. According to Pääkkönen, in the early stages of the project, they had to experiment a bit to find the right details and implementation methods for the new system, but once the solutions were found, the work progressed even faster and more smoothly than expected.
Fescon's new Finnish-made balcony coating in use on Paraistentie
In addition to the facades, balcony repairs also played an important role in the overall project. For the balcony repairs in the Paraistentie project, Fescon’s new KL+ series of repair mortars and Fescon Suojamaali were used, and for the first time at Hoas sites, the new Finnish-made Nanten PU Flex UV balcony coating was also used.
According to Mikko Syrjänen, Sales Team Manager at Fescon, the system had to meet the technical requirements specified in the design, includingand compressive strength, carbonation resistance, and long-term durability. In these applications, the coating’s role is not merely to finish the surface, but to protect the structure and ensure the repair’s long service life.
Nanten PU Flex UV is based on a polyurethane coating previously in use, with a long track record of proven performance. In the new product, weather resistance has been further improved, particularly with regard to UV radiation, to ensure that color change in the coating due to long-term exposure to sunlight is kept to a minimum. In addition, the product is low-emission and certified to the highest M1 class, making it suitable for glazed balconies and terraces as well.
The project also utilized Fescon’s reformulated repair mortars, whose improved composition and workability facilitated a fast and high-quality work phase.
A high-quality, locally produced product through collaboration
Fescon has been BRIX’s long-standing mortar supplier, and their partnership is built on reliability, high-quality products, and domestic expertise. Both companies aim to promote Finnish construction through their operations and offer solutions that meet the industry’s growing quality and sustainability requirements.
The renovation of Paraistentie is a good example of how a successful outcome is rarely the result of a single product or solution. What matters more is how the various components support one another as part of a larger whole.
