Tilkka Hospital ( Finnish: Tilkan sairaala, Swedish: Tilkka sjukhus; often referred to simply as Tilkka) is a former military hospital in Helsinki, Finland. It is located at Mannerheimintie 164 in the Pikku Huopalahti district. [1]
Tilkka military hospital was founded in 1918 and moved to Pikku Huopalahti in 1936 [2] when the new nine-storey Functionalist building designed by architect Olavi Sortta was completed. [3] The building's distinctive mark are the semi-circular balconies, facing south around the main stairway. Patient rooms were concentrated on the top seven floors, providing patients with light, ventilation and a scenic view. Service rooms were located across the central corridor. [3]
Tilkka was expanded in the 1960s with a five-storey enlargement, an office wing and another low wing that housed for instance a military pharmacy. The expansion was also designed by Sortta and the enlargement followed the space division of the original 1930s building. [3]
The military hospital operated until 2005 when the Finnish Defence Forces vacated the building following an organizational transformation that outsourced the military's special health care. [4] The State of Finland sold the building to pension insurance company Etera for 8.8 million euros in October 2006 [5] after which it was renovated into an elderly nursing home. The nursing home is operated by nursing service provider Esperi Care and houses 150 residents. [1] [6]
The National Board of Antiquities has listed Tilkka as a nationally significant built cultural heritage site [3] and Docomomo has selected the building as a significant example of modern architecture in Finland. [7] The building is protected by a 2002 zoning ordinance and cannot be torn down or altered in a way that damages its cultural historical value. [8]