Solo Sokos Hotel Helsinki
Design Office KOKO3 took on the challenge of transforming the Solo Sokos Hotel Helsinki back to its former glory – with a modern twist.
Hotel Helsinki, a neoclassical gem designed by architect Pauli E. Blomstedt, has been a cornerstone of Helsinki’s buzzing city scene since its construction in 1930. The eight-story grand hotel, complete with showy entrance halls, dining rooms, and lounges, was the first of its kind in Finland. In the early 1970s, the building became renowned as the home of the legendary Helsinki Club. The beloved “Hesari” served in the hotel building for a noteworthy 40 years.
After various changes over the years, it was time for the hotel to receive a facelift worthy of its history, aesthetics, and status as a legend among hotels.
The renewed Solo Sokos Hotel Helsinki takes its inspiration from the city that surrounds it. The new interiors are a grand homage to Helsinki, piece by piece. The hotel rooms and corridors build on Helsinki storytelling while staying true to the building’s early 1930s-era style references.
The city’s favorite pieces are found in numerous design details: seagulls hover over the market square in custom-designed wallpapers, while Bulevardi’s linden trees blossom along the corridors. If you look closely, you can find references to other legendary Helsinki buildings too, from the Finlandia Hall to department store Stockmann’s famous meeting point.
Brass, local Finnish granite, and the deep blue of the city at dusk recur in the various hotel rooms. Light surfaces, golden tones, and soft yellows remind us of the white nights that light up the city during warm summer nights. These quality materials combined with classic pieces of Finnish design and custom-built furniture truly make the Hotel Helsinki experience. Rightly named after its muse, the Helsinki suite offers all the pieces wrapped up in the ultimate Helsinki design experience.
Design: KOKO3
Photography: Riikka Kantinkoski
