Building Control Archive

The Espoo Building Control Archives has been accumulating documents since 1939. Comprehensive data on the entire area of the municipality can only be found from the beginning of the 1950s. The Building Control Department has archived the following sets of documents: 

• Master drawings of buildings, i.e. so-called architectural drawings (site plans, floor plans, sectional and facade drawings) 

• Other building permit documents, such as permit applications and permit decisions, as well as inspection protocols drawn up in supervision of the construction work 

• Structural and special plans submitted to Building Control in connection with construction works, such as HVAC drawings (excluding electrical diagrams) 

• Water and sewerage drawings received by Espoon Vesi from 1952–2003 

The permit documents prior to 1999 (including master drawings) and the structural and special plans prior to 1989 have been transferred to the Espoo City Archives (Siltakatu 11, Entresse Shopping Centre, 3rd floor). From 2014 onwards, structural and special plans submitted to the archive have been archived only electronically. With regard to permit documents, electronic archiving started in 2018.   

The digitisation of the Building Control Department’s permit documents and Espoon Vesi’s water and sewerage plans covers the entire area of the city, and the customers of the archive have the opportunity to access the material. 

The following documents have been digitised from the archive: 

• Master drawings of buildings (site plans, floor plans, sectional and facade drawings) 

• Civil defence shelter (VSS) drawings and separate yard plans 

• Permit applications, permit decisions and inspection protocols 

• Espoon Vesi’s drawing archives from 1952–2003 

Digitised construction drawings are available online: eCity/Arska service(external link, opens in a new window) 

If a specific material is not online for some reason, files can be provided by e-mail against a written order, if necessary. For example, old water and sewerage diagrams should be requested from the archive’s customer service, if they are not in the online service.   

In the case of large orders, other delivery methods can also be negotiated. The fees charged for electronic documents can be found in the Building Control services rates 22 §.