Civil engineers give Finnforest award

04/10/2004

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