Façade colour scheme service of the Building Control Department – Helsinki colour scheme in electronic format

We make the use of our services much easier. The façade colour scheme service is a new type of online service offering information on the façade colour schemes characteristic of the buildings from different eras constructed throughout Helsinki.

Users will have the opportunity to see Helsinki colour scheme materials for example by examining the history of the colours of their own home. This service is primarily aimed at housing associations and designers in Helsinki who are intending to launch façade restoration projects.

The basic materials for the Helsinki colour scheme and original colour templates are currently kept at the Building Control Department’s reference library where they can be viewed by appointment together with the regional permit processor. The original colour templates and their codes have been established in cooperation with the Tikkurila Paint Plant. In the façade colour scheme service project, the colour codes of the scheme will be updated so as to be suitable for the systems currently in use. This scheme will also be digitalised. The complete Helsinki colour scheme can now be accessed via an online service, making it more readily available as well as more widely known.

The basic materials of the Helsinki colour scheme include 378 colour combinations (standardised colour options) from the 1700’s to the  1960’s, conservator Thorvald Lindqvist’s project list, colour map and regional colour options for Puu-Käpylä, Puu-Vallila, Olympiakylä (olympic village), Torkkelinmäki, Liisankatu and some city blocks in the Tammisalo area of Helsinki.

Restoration of the original colour of a building during a façade restoration project is often desirable. Through this new type of façade colour scheme service, it is possible to have a hand in ensuring the quality of the end result as well as making it significantly easier to establish the original colouring of the building.

The façade colour scheme service will be implemented by the City of Helsinki Building Control Department in cooperation with Tikkurila plc.

More information

Leena Jaskanen
Architect
City of Helsinki Building Control Department
Tel +358 9 310 26416
leena.jaskanen@hel.fi