Haukilahti water tower

[4] The widow of architect Erkko Virkkunen has said that the futuristic appearance of the water tower was inspired by the animated series The Jetsons.

Construction of the water tower was the first time a technique where concrete elements built on the ground were hydraulically pulled upwards was used in Finland.

[4] Planning the Haukilahti water tower started in the mid 1960s when construction in southern Espoo was in its most intense growth phase.

[5]: 91–95  Challenging parts of the design included the concrete spherical cap shaped water containers, whose calculations were done by computer, which was rare in Finland at the time.

The lower part of the water container consisted of two spherical caps, of which the first had a diameter of 40 metres and weighed 1230 tonnes.

[5]: 91–95  The second lower cap, with a diameter of 45 metres[5]: 91–95  was built in the same manner, and it functions as heat insulation and a facade for the container.

After the lifting phase a concrete lid was cast onto the tower, on top of which a lookout restaurant with a hundred seats with its own terrace was built.

[5]: 91–95 The tower was originally intended to serve the areas of Haukilahti, Westend, Tapiola, Matinkylä, Olari, Niittykumpu and Laajalahti.

It served the needs of 70,000 inhabitants in 2013 and is the only water tower in the Helsinki capital region open to the public.