Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2016 | Page 41

various timeframes for use, one really needs detailed planning to make the concept work in the optimal manner,” he says. “In the end, I feel that we were able to fit all the parts together pretty well.” Educations in Opinmäki is based on collaboration and interaction, both between the operators and with residents of the community. Flexible premises, smart technological choices and using facilities in novel ways enable residents of all ages to meet and interact every day of the week. Roll the Dice Opinmäki is extremely accessible from any direction, comprising nine separate buildings – already called blocks – that are connected by open lobby spaces. According to Ruskeepää, dividing the large program (16,700 square meters) into smaller "buildings" makes sense. The result has much smaller, more refined scale. The apparent danger in multipurpose space is cramming dozens of activities in Opinmäki – Fast Facts Services: Espoo International School, Päivänkehrä School, Opinmäki Day-care Centre, Active Learning Centre AKKU, Espoo Youth Centre, Espoo Adult Education Centre, Espoo Sports and Exercise Services, Suurpelto associations Architect Esa Ruskeepää (b. 1980) Principal Designer Vesa Erikkilä (b. 1963) Project Architect Sasu Marila (b. 1972) Competition entry Thomas Miyauchi, Esa Ruskeepää Architectural competition 2011 Structural design: Jyrki Ketonen HPAC and I&C design: Vesa Jermilä Electrical design: Mika Lamminen Project management contractor: SRV Total costs: €54 million Gross floor area: 16.700 m2 Year of completion: 2015 one mega-building – but how does this all look to, say, a seven-year-old? “What we have now is more like a village composed of several smaller buildings,” he says. The building materials are brick, concrete and wood. Ruskeepää says that in his design, he was going for a mood that is more peaceful and dignified: this way, the centre can be seen not so much as a school, but as a “building for the community”. Opinmäki is also energy-efficient and optimised for life-cycle expenses – meaning, among other things, that the premises are convenient to service and maintain. Push the Envelope Kaisu Toivonen, Director of Education at the City, comments that in the coming years, Opinmäki will become one of the pioneers of education in Espoo. “Placing international and Finnishlanguage basic education in shared premises will create linguistic and cultural understanding,” she says, adding that a lifelong learning tunnel reaches from pre-school to adult education. “