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VTT Oil and Peat Technology Laboratory
Biologinkuja, Espoo (Helsinki)
1955 - 1960
The design work for the VTT Oil and Peat Technology Laboratory was started by Alvar Aalto in 1955, while construction was completed in 1960. The two-storey brick building is errected above a rectangular plan. On the north-west side of the building is added a lower section. Both building wings are covered by back-to-back monopitched roofs. The south-west façade is composed as a juxtaposition of vertical window sections. On the upper floor of the building are located the spaces for the director, the secretary and researches, together with additional laboratories, a library and other additional spaces. The ground floor is occupied by a two-storey engine hall, a machine hall, oil laboratories and storage spaces. On several occasions, the builiding was extended in accordance with plans by other architects, so that the floor area of the building has grown considerably. Parts of the interior designed by Alvar Aalto are preserved, but on the exterior it is difficult to make out the original parts.