New architectonic landmark at Helsinki Airport: Pier Zero is the cherry on top of the airport's service upgrade
Unveiled in September, this magnificent piece of architectural work, the Pier Zero café/restaurant is one of the most significant openings of the service upgrade, executed by Finavia at Helsinki Airport. About 70 new or updated restaurants and shops have been opened at Helsinki Airport in the last two years to better take into account the needs of the ever increasing passenger volume.
"We have extensively updated the service range of Helsinki Airport over the last two years. It is an indisputable fact that Pier Zero is one of the update's most ambitious yet challenging projects. Building a two-storey restaurant inside a terminal building in continuous use is not the easiest construction project. However, the results show that the hard work paid off – we now have a new, impressive landmark at the airport", says Ville Haapasaari, the director of Helsinki Airport from Finavia.
The Pier Zero architect Roger Copeland, owner of Detail Design based in Zurich, Switzerland, says that the basis for the design process was inspired by nature and the human’s drive towards freedom and mobility.
“We studied intensively the Finnish culture, nature and Finnish design. The terminology “PIER” reflects what can be found to thousands in Finland’s lake shores and the “ZERO” stands for the starting point of travellers journeys. Our inspirations came from nature and human’s native drive for freedom and mobility. The eagle represents the main inspiration element in our concept”, Copeland says.
The design is an architectural milestone in the producibility of structural designs as there is not one single component straight or simple.
"Think Global, Cook Local"
Pier Zero is the newest service outlet of HMSHost, one of the restaurant operators at Helsinki Airport. HMSHost launched operations at the airport in the early 2014, where it has 12 other restaurants and cafés in addition to Pier Zero.
“Big international companies have now noticed the potential of Helsinki Airport and are committed to developing the airport together with us. This is great news. Because of the service overhaul Finland has received significant international investments. In addition, new jobs have been created in Finland", Haapasaari says.
HMSHost’s slogan is "Think Global, Cook Local". This also applies to Pier Zero.
“I’m very proud that we succeeded so well in this in our newest hospitality venue at Helsinki Airport. It’s the crowning glory of the cooperation between Finavia and HMSHost”, says Walter Seib, CEO of HMSHost International.
Designed by Finnish chefs, the Pier Zero menu is inspired by the ruggedly beautiful nature of Finland. At the restaurant, you can enjoy, for example, a glass of wine, a filled sandwich prepared on site or a nice full course dinner.
Towards 20 million passengers
The service update of Helsinki Airport is based on the need to improve the airport service range to better take into account the diverse needs of the ever increasing passenger volume.
The aim of Finavia’s development programme is to strengthen Helsinki Airport's strong competitive position, especially in air traffic between Europe and Asia and to get ready to serve 20 million passengers by 2020. Helsinki Airport's strengths include short transit times, friendly staff and world class, innovative services. We want to preserve these also as the passenger volume increases.
The value of the development project is approximately EUR 1 billion.
Press images: http://bit.ly/1OFwLKK
Finavia
Communications
Media Desk tel. 358 20 708 2002, comms@finavia.fi
Finavia provides and develops airport and air navigation services with focus on safety, customer-orientation and cost efficiency. Finavia’s comprehensive network of 24 airports enables international connections from Finland — and to different parts of Finland. Helsinki Airport is the leading Northern European transit airport for long-haul traffic. Revenues in 2014 were EUR 350 million, and the number of employees 2900.
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