Kaarea’s property services delivered the architectural design for a brick building located in the Luostarinmäki Museum Quarter, which was transferred into museum use after the operating permit of the Russian Consulate in Turku was revoked. The renovation, commissioned by the City of Turku, has received praise from the museum and the space will open for use this summer.

A history with many phases

Hanslankari is located in the Luostarinmäki Museum Quarter on the same plot as the current Café Kisälli. The brick building was completed in 1888 and designed by Turku’s city architect at the time, Artur Kajander. Originally, the building served as an outbuilding for the families living on the site: toilets were located in the central section, a two-horse stable with a hay loft above it in the eastern end, and a shed in the western end.

In the early 1900s, the interior timber structures were renewed, and the layout was altered when the shed’s wide doorway was bricked up and the toilet facilities were expanded. In the late 1980s, the building was renovated for use by the Soviet Consulate as staff club premises. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the transition to the Russian Consulate, the club room was converted into a chapel topped by a gold-coloured dome.

The building was transferred to museum use after the operating permit of the Russian Consulate in Turku was revoked in 2023. Following the change of purpose, the building was named Hanslankari in 2025, in line with the naming of the museum quarter’s other customer spaces.

Renovated for its new purpose – with respect for the old

The architectural design was led by Kaarea’s Head of Design, architect Pasi Aaltonen. The renovation restored both exterior and interior spaces while respecting the building’s history and structures. The roof covering was recoated, new openings were created and previous openings were brought back into use. The old stable door was repurposed as a new wide, accessible entrance with new glass doors. A larch terrace and an accessible ramp were built outside the building.

Indoors, a new timber frame and insulation were installed, and the original brick structure was supported to the timber frame with through-fixings. The plasterboard surfaces of the internal walls were finished with lime paint in the upper parts and tiled with brick tiles in the lower parts. A cement-based, integrally coloured floor screed was installed. The works were carried out by Rakant Oy, and the space will serve, among other uses, meetings and other small-scale events as part of the museum quarter’s activities.

Kaarea’s property services design team provides architectural design for a wide range of renovation and alteration projects. Hanslankari at Luostarinmäki is an example of how a new purpose can be found for a historic building through careful design and execution.

(Building history information: Turku City Museum)