Kalevi Yacht Club Marina Building

The location was challenging because the old Yacht Club is a heritage-protected building. Facing its terrace, the new boathouse required a solid wall — made from panels cast with old sail patterns. Each panel is unique, and the textured wall can be admired from the restaurant terrace. The harbour master’s office, gym, saunas, and club room are at the seaward end, with all corridors and connections outside the heated volume. The men’s and women’s saunas can work separately for large events or be combined for smaller ones to save heating and cleaning costs.

A club member, who had been present at the construction of the old Yacht Club building in 1948, stood up and asked:
“How is it possible that back then we built our clubhouse together with our members on weekends, and everyone participated. The whole thing was done in just one summer. Why does it have to be so complicated today? Let’s just do it ourselves!” What stayed with me was the phrase “everyone participated.” How could we create a process where, within today’s regulatory framework, all 700 club members could take part?
The solution emerged in the form of repurposing old sails owned by club members — turning them into relief moulds in concrete. The wrinkles, repairs, tears, and the memories of where and why they appeared are cast directly into the building’s surface. Dozens of sails were used for the casting — some had won world championship titles, others had lived long and adventurous lives, repaired far more times than their sailmakers could have imagined.

The entire building is constructed from reinforced concrete sandwich panels and timber structures. The thermal wood is left unpainted, allowing it to age naturally over time without requiring future maintenance or repainting. In addition to concrete panels, glulam beams are used as load-bearing elements for larger spans. The concrete is standard, without additives or surface finishing. On the south façade, glazing is kept to a minimum and further shaded by balconies to reduce heat gain. To save energy, all stairs and corridors are placed outside the heated volume, lowering winter heating costs during periods of reduced use. In the boat hall and youth sports school areas, where there is a flood risk, the entire structure is designed to withstand water levels rising up to one meter above floor level without causing damage.