Another major award for FMO Tapiola

 

FMO Tapiola office building, incorporating innovations developed by Metsäliitto Wood Products Industry (Finnforest), shared second place in the 2006 RIL Award.

The RIL Award is one of the most prestigious building awards in Finland and is given annually by the Association of Finnish Civil Engineers. The award recognises projects where expertise has been used in a creative manner when designing the structure either by developing new solutions or applying existing know-how, and where special attention has been paid to technological, economic, social and environmental aspects.
Out of this year’s three finalists, Heidi Hautala, MP, decided that first place should go to the quality project of the city of Oulu’s building inspection authority, with FMO Tapiola and the Kamppi shopping centre in Helsinki sharing second place. 

“When we commissioned FMO Tapiola, our initial aim was to demonstrate the versatile possibilities of how to use prefabricated wooden products in an exceptional way,” says Mika Kallio, Head of Building Solutions, Metsäliitto Wood Products Industry, and continues, “Furthermore, wood has been used in a very innovative way, for example, in demanding connecting solutions. The building is also ecologically efficient and meets the demands of life cycle aspects.”

The 20th RIL Award was announced at the Finnish Civil Engineers Congress on 5 October 2006, at the Helsinki International Building and Building Services Fair, 'FinnBuild'. The three finalists were chosen from eleven projects by a professional panel comprising representatives from the media and the building and construction sector including: Veijo Käyhty, Editor-in-Chief (Rakennuslehti – the Finnish Journal of the Building Industry); Esko Lukkari, journalist (Kauppalehti – major business daily); Pentti Raiski, Architect (POOK arkkitehdit Oy); Helena Säteri, Development Director, Ministry of the Environment, and Professor Matti Pursula (Helsinki University of Technology). The panel was chaired by journalist Esko Nurmi from Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's leading national daily.

This was the second major award for FMO Tapiola within a week. On 29 September, the building was placed first in the 2006 Wood Award presented by Puuinformaatio ry, an association promoting Finnish wood architecture . 

FMO Tapiola
- Primary architect: Helin & Co Architects, Pekka Helin and Peter Verhe, Helsinki
- Structural designer: WSP SuunnitteluKORTES Oy, Jukka Ala-Ojala, Helsinki
- Building services (HVAC) design: Air-Ix Suunnittelu, Tampere
- Building consultant: CM-Urakointi Oy, Helsinki
- Main Contractor: Peab Seicon Oy, Helsinki
- Owner: Tapiola Group, Espoo
- Address: Tuulikuja 2, Tapiola, Espoo

For more information about FMO Tapiola:
Johanna Kankkunen, Director, Marketing and Communications, Metsäliitto Wood Products Industry (Finnforest), tel. +358 50 350 4005

For more information about the RIL Award:
Ritva Solasaari, Communications and Marketing Manager, RIL, tel. +358 40 824 0617

Photograph: Voitto Niemelä
The photograph can be downloaded from http://www.pressi.com/fi/kuvat/
Additional photographs can be obtained from info@finnforest.com