Police station gets new lease of life as a healthy building

Built in 1980, the police station in Lappeenranta borders the Kansalaistori square, one of the prime locations in the city. The police station served the police staff and customers alike for more than 30 years until dozens of employees began to show symptoms because of gradually worsening indoor air problems. Among other things, dry eyes and symptoms indicative of asthma were reported to the occupational healthcare physician.

Local newspapers also caught on to health problems at the police station at the turn of the 2010s. Senate Properties reacted promptly and attempted to remedy the problems right from the start. An indoor air team was established comprising police department representatives, Senate Properties and occupational healthcare.

“Windows and gaps were made airtight and minor renovations were carried out. However, the situation didn’t fundamentally change,” says Deputy Police Chief Marko Nyyssönen at Southeastern Finland Police Department.

The police station was vacated in April 2012, when all 140 employees relocated to temporary premises. Customer service relocated a couple of blocks away and the rest of the employees nine kilometres away to Mustola, next to the Saimaa Canal. Police prison operations transferred to Imatra.

Senate Properties and the National Police Board together thought about how the situation could be resolved. The police station was inevitably nearing the end of its useful life. The employees had relocated to other premises, but the police station was not subject to a prohibition of use.

“We thought about how a complete renovation could be planned beforehand, in other words before the situation reached the point where the building was completely prohibited from being used,” Nyyssönen adds.

Senate’s spearhead project

Timo Juolevi, Construction Management Manager at Senate Properties, was actively involved in the project. He says that the plans for the police station renovation project were completed in 2014. The following year, the project received an appropriation and the project began.

The renovation was one of Senate Properties’ spearhead projects. The modernisation cost €15 million and was completed in line with the national police station concept.

“We took the employees’ wishes into account in the project. The employees commented on the plan and told what they hoped for from the new work environment,” Juolevi says.

Near the start of modernisation, the employees had to relocate again because there were also indoor air problems in the temporary premises.

“The temporary premises, too, were also repaired but this did not improve things. We relocated to the university campus on the western edge of the city. Constant relocation naturally taxed the work community,” says Deputy Police Chief Marko Nyyssönen.

The employees adapted to the situation, but there were other twists and turns on the way.

“At one stage, there was no garaging for vehicles and so police cars had to be parked outside. In the winter frosts they might freeze in the snow.”

New start in renovated premises

Constant relocation of employees is now finally over and they were able to move into the renovated premises in March 2018.

Complete renovation left hardly anything of the old building. The reception area was modernised and immediately after the outside door, visitors are greeted by a metal detector. The walls, painted in white and dark blue, shine in their newness and the lockers in the employees’ changing rooms match the blue that is considered the police’s signature colour. The technology in the meeting and interrogation rooms has also been brought into this decade and the police prison facilities were also rebuilt.

Many Lappeenranta residents thought that the derelict police station in the city centre should have been demolished. Some of the employees were of the same opinion.

“The police station is well located, the building connects Villimiehenkatu street below with Kansalaistori square above. Demolishing the building would have posed a challenge and the police station is also part of the government office building. In the middle of the city, it instils a sense of trust and safety,” is how Timo Juolevi justifies the decision not to demolish the building.

Supreme power in the project was exercised by a steering group, which besides Timo Juolevi, included Jyrki Reinikainen, Regional Director of the Property Region of Eastern Finland, Jan Takkinen, Account Manager, a representative from the National Police Board and the management of Southeastern Finland Police Department. The steering group agreed, among other things, the meetings related to the renovation and the staff reviews of the arrangements on a number of occasions.

During the complete renovation, the facade and all the organic matter and insulation materials in the building were dismantled. Only the concrete frame was left – and was found to be clean.

According to Timo Juolevi, it transpired during the renovation that there was moisture in the mineral wool insulation, for example.

“We didn’t investigate the materials removed because they all went to landfill. An indoor air expert was on hand during renovation and we addressed moisture control and cleanliness at the worksite. We allowed the surfaces plenty of time to dry and the building was renovated under weather protection.”

All the surface materials at the new police station are now M1 emission classification. The M1 label on building materials tells that the materials are low emission and that they have been tested in an independent laboratory.

Police station employees were kept up to speed and also the occupational healthcare physician and nurse toured the construction site during the renovation project. Juolevi considers that communication in particular was successful in the project. Senate Properties and the National Police Board aimed for systematic communication, where rumours and fears were promptly responded to.

“We carried out indoor air inspections and communicated these to our employees. We used photographs and videos to illustrate what was happening in the different work phases. We wanted to make it clear that we were creating a new, healthy building.”

According to Deputy Police Chief Marko Nyyssönen, employees’ doubts about the project eased thanks to info briefings.

“Opinions gradually changed when the staff saw that everything old was removed.”

From individual offices to an activity-based environment

As a result of the renovation, most of the individual offices were replaced by an activity-based environment. Office spaces now amount to 18.3 square metres per full-time equivalent and space to a total of 38.6 square metres per full-time equivalent. The police station was enlarged by a few hundred square metres to the government office building side. Also technical investigation facilities and the garage are larger than earlier, for example.

In February 2019, it is time for the first annual inspection, when there is still time to put right any minor defects. According to Nyyssönen, the new police station attracted mostly good feedback. Everyone is pleased that they no longer need to relocate.

“The modern, open working space, good acoustics and upgraded equipment have been commended.”