Pekka Helin's “Sydänpuu” (“Heartwood”) wins

The team from Helin & Co Architects has won Finnforest's Modular Office
architectural competition. 

“Sydänpuu” (“Heartwood”), the winning entry, was designed by Pekka Helin. The
competition jury believes that the proposed building admirably meets the goals
set out, with its fine lines, impressiveness and confident reliance on wood
materials. When construction is complete it will be the biggest wood-structure
office building in the Nordic countries. 

The competition involved drawing up design proposals for a wood-structure
office building to house about 240 employees in Tapiola, Espoo, just outside
Helsinki. Finnforest's corporate management will figure prominently amongst the
occupants. A total floor area of 8,000 square metres is permitted by the
planning authorities and the building is to have five storeys, of which four
main storeys will be wood structured. When complete it will be the biggest
wood-structure office building in the Nordic countries. Construction work will
start in the spring of next year and the new office will be ready in the summer
of 2005. 

The building will be located in the Hakalehto area of Tapiola. The site is
bounded in the south by Länsiväylä, in the east by Etelätuulentie and in the
north by Tuulikuja. The land is at present part of a school area and an old
school building there is scheduled for demolition. A change is being drawn up
in the local townplanning scheme to take the winning competition plan into
account. 

Helin & Co Architects was founded in 1999 and has become well known and
respected in its field. Herlin & Co Architects' most well-known recent works
include the new Annex to the Finnish Parliament and the extension to Nokia's
head office in Keilaniemi, Espoo. The leading figure in the architectural
office is its founder, Pekka Helin, and the Finnforest Modular Office winner
bears all the marks of his talent. 

Some 55 people work in the Helin office and the members of the “Heartwood”
group were: Architect: Pekka Helin, member of the Finnish Association of
Architects (SAFA). Team: Vesa Jäntti, Tommi Sassi, Anna Ivanejko, Hanna Euro,
Satu Jaatinen, Marja-Riita Norri, Ari Sahlman, Mariitta Helineva, Jan Wolski.
Special experts: Yrjö Wiherheimo, office-layouts, fittings and furnishings,
wooden landscape reliefs, Jukka Ala-Ojala, structures, Jukka-Pekka Laaksonen,
fire technology, Pekka Saaristo, heating, plumbing, airconditioning and
automation technology, Jarmo Ruotsalainen, electrical and data processing
technology. Assistants: Titta Lumio, Kaarina Livola, Kirsi Pajunen, Jenni
Vuori, Julius Kekoni, Marjaliisa Honkanen. 

The Finnforest Modular Office will make good use of Moelven's knowhow in
modular systems and of the building solutions that Finnforest has developed:
wall, floor, roof and intermediate floor products and sys-tems. 

“The Modular Office brings the wood products industry on stage in the world of
multi-storeyed building and office block construction” says Ari Martonen,
Finnforest Corporation's President and CEO. “For Finnforest it also presents
and highlights our module and system products. The Modular Office is aimed
particularly at architects, planners, builders and real estate investors. The
building will be a powerful front-runner, both functionally and ecologically,
compared with office buildings made of competing materials. Speedy
con-struction also increases its competitive advantage. And the Modular Office
does not raise costs above normal levels so it is a competitive investment as
far as the owners are concerned.” 

Tapiola Group will own the new building
The investment agreement between Finforest and the non-life and pension
insurance companies of the Tapiola Group has been concluded. Tapiola undertakes
to develop the new head office of Finforest. Tapiola's real estate director
Asko Salminen says that an investment in the central area of Tapiola is a good
way to fulfil the criteria of profitability and security that are important for
insurance companies. 

Competitors and the jury
Finnforest's Modular Office competition was arranged in the form of an open
invitational architecture competition in the Nordic countries. The aim was to
find a design for a high-quality functional and flexible office building which
would feature the characteristic qualities of wood as a structural building
material for an urban milieu in an exemplary manner. The competition would help
to discover integrated wood-based struc-tural solutions for intermediate
floors, external cladding and interior walls in office buildings. At the same
time it would assist in finding models for natural combinations of other
building materials with wood structures in ways that are aesthetically
attractive, technically efficient and economical. 

A total of 61 architectural offices expressed interest in the competition and
ten were invited to take part in the competition itself. Participants from
Finland were ARK-house Arkkitehdit Oy Erholtz-Kareoja-Herranen-Huttunen,
Arkkitehtuuritoimisto Heikkinen-Komonen Oy, Arkkitehtitoimisto Lahdelma &
Mahlamäki Oy, Arkkitehtitoimisto Laiho-Pulkkinen-Rainio Oy, Arkkitehtitoimisto
Sarc Oy and Arkkitehtitoiminta Oy Kai Wartiainen, Helin & Co Archtects, and
Arkkitehtitoimisto Tuomo Siitonen Oy; from Sweden Arkitekt Rolf Bergsten; and
from Denmark Kim Utzon Arkitekter. Author: Pekka Helin, Architect SAFA, project
team: Vesa Jäntti, Tommi Sassi, Anna Ivanejko, Hanna Euro, Satu Jaatinen,
Marja-Riitta Norri, Ari Sahlman, Mariitta Helineva and Jan Wolski. Specialist
consultants: Yrjö Wiherheimo, office rooms layout, furnishings, relief, Jukka
Ala-Ojala, structures, Jukka-Pekka Laaksonen, fire safety, Pekka Saaristo,
HVAC, Jarmo Ruotsalainen, electrics and IT. Assistants: Titta Lumio, Kaarina
Livola, Kirsi Pajunen, Jenni Vuori, Julius Kekoni, Marjaliisa Honkanen. 

The competition jury was chaired by Olavi Louko, Espoo City Director of
Environmental and Technical Services, and its other members were Espoo City
Planning Manager Kristiina Peltomaa, and Finnforest's Construction Director
Lauri Palojärvi, Corporate Communications Director Jukka-Pekka Vuori and
Engi-neered Wood Division Director Heikki Castrén, together with Modular Office
Project Architect Jarmo Pulk-kinen, Association of Finnish Architects (SAFA)
Competition Secretary Paula Huotelin, and Juha Ilonen as the competitors'
representative. 

Further information:
Lauri Palojärvi, SVP, Building and Construction 0500 507 447
Esa Kosonen, SVP, R&D, 050 598 9562
Markko Ihamuotila, SVP, Marketing and Communications 050 598 7014
Tapiola Group: Asko Salminen, Real Estate Director, 0400 877 553

Finnforest, owned by the Metsäliitto Group, is the largest mechanical forest
products corporation in Europe. Turnover in 2002 was € 1,8 billion.  Finnforest
offers wood-based product and service solutions to its cus-tomers in the
construction, industrial, distribution and retailing segments. The corporation
is active in over 20 countries with 7,700 employees. In Scandinavia the
operation are the responsibility of Moelven.