Civil engineers give Finnforest award

 

The Aurinkorinne residential development in Espoo has earned Finnforest, Skan-ska and the City of Espoo the second prize in a competition arranged by the Asso-ciation of Finnish Civil Engineers.

The rules of the competition state that innovative and demanding designs and construction together with technical, social, economic, ecological and aesthetic merit as well as laudable implementation completed in a high-quality building of international interest are the factors to be taken into consideration when assessing eligibility for an award.

The jury comprised Sampsa Heilä (editor of a building trade magazine), Esko Nurmi (journalist with Helsingin Sanomat), Eero Hyvönen (news editor of TV channel Nelonen), Juhani Kajatie (representing the Finnish Association of Architects), Erkki KM Leppävuori (Director General of the Technical Research Centre of Finland), Toivo Vainiotalo (Counsellor of Building, University of Helsinki) and Tapani Mäkikyrö (City of Oulu building authority).

Representatives of the partners in the development also received personal honorary certificates. Minna Fagerlund, Janne Jurvelin, Lauri Palojärvi and Patricia Wikström from Finnforest were among the recipients.  
 
The firm of architects Juha Kronlöf & Pauliina Vihinen designed the Aurinkorinne project. It is a modern, urban area of small residential houses. In addition to wooden structural elements, the houses utilise highly-processed wood-based materials in both their interiors and in exterior cladding. There are 24 houses in the development and their floor areas range from 115 to 146 square metres. The construction mode was industrial in nature. 

Urban areas of small-scale houses are a new concept in Finland and the Friisilä project, which was started in 2001 and completed last spring, was a pioneering venture. Moving from multi-storey buildings to small-scale area developments is a major challenge for construction companies and an excellent opportunity for the wood products industry. Success requires that large corporations and small and medium enterprises in the wood products sector form effective networks.

Finnforest implemented the project in cooperation with the City of Espoo and Skanska. The venture was also guided by a development group, which comprised representatives of the Helsinki University of Technology, the National Technology Agency of Finland and the Technical Research Centre of Finland, among others. The project indicated that the selected cooperative approach was correct and that it is possible to significantly increase the turnover generated from wood by shifting to the supply of component products, which incorporate design, logistics and installation services into products. The projections about the future prospects for the building sector made at the time of the launch of the project have proved on the mark. The construction of small-scale houses is increasing rapidly and wood products have a strong share of that market.

Additional information: Finnforest Corporation, Construction Director Lauri Palojärvi, tel. +358 500 507 447