European Chemicals Agency moves to Telakkaranta

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) moves from the Annankatu Street to its new premises in Telakkaranta in early 2020.

ECHA is one of the EU’s largest agencies and it works for the safe use of chemicals in the European Union area, said a press release issued by the City of Helsinki.

The Chemicals Agency’s new premises consist of two buildings. One is a former machine workshop, now completely refurbished, of the old dockyard. The actual office building is new, partly built on top of an old carpentry workshop.

The European Chemicals Agency’s 8-storey office building, developed and built by Skanska, is located right at the heart of Telakkaranta at Telakkakatu 6. An old brick-built carpentry workshop building, whose exterior has been protected, remains inside and a part of the new building.

The protected old machine workshop building next to it has also been completely rebuilt. The machine workshop building will include a meeting and event centre. A pedestrian passage has been built between the two buildings. The architectural design has been carried out by L Architects Ltd.

All of ECHA’s around 600 employees will move to the new premises. These have been designed with flexibility, openness and light in mind. The house will have, for example, premises for visitors, and a restaurant for the personnel. The facade is in line with the red brick image of the old industrial buildings of the Telakkaranta area. The old premises of the Chemicals Agency on Annankatu will be rebuilt into a Scandic conference hotel.

“We are really excited for ECHA to be a part of the unique and growing Telakkaranta area, with its historical and cultural significance. In addition to our staff, the modern and sustainable premises will serve thousands of international visitors we bring to Helsinki every year, contributing positively to the image of the city. Our new buildings have given a new lease of life to the former shipyard and this is also how we see our work evolving: we are building something new on solid foundations. Today, we know more about the chemicals used in Europe than ever before and this will eventually lead to better protection for people and the environment”, said ECHA Executive Director Bjorn Hansen.