Hopealaakso Daycare Centre wins 2021 Finnish Wood Award

The winner of the 2021 Finnish Wood Award was chosen by a jury appointed by Puuinfo, whose members were professors of architecture schools Pekka Heikkinen from Aalto University, Markku Karjalainen from Tampere University and Janne Pihlajaniemi from the University of Oulu. The jury considered this year’s standard to be very high.

The jury states the following as the award criteria:

“In the Hopealaakso kindergarten, wood has been used throughout in a versatile, consistent and natural way.

The materials and colors of the facade have been chosen stylishly and appropriately. The facade facing the street, which is more exposed to weather conditions and traffic noise, is made of practical and cool-toned zinc sheet metal, while the warm-toned and multi-layered larch facade facing the courtyard and the outdoor terraces are well protected from the weather under canopies and long eaves.

CLT wood elements have been used in the load-bearing walls. The wall overhangs protruding from the structure towards the courtyard are an excellent demonstration of how a CLT structure without additional thermal insulation can be used in a multifaceted way as a load-bearing structure of the building. In the walls facing the street, solid wood CLT also plays a key role as a sound-insulating element.

Inside, wood creates a warm atmosphere and coziness that is suitable for a daycare center. Skylights in the roof bring in light, and glass walls and interior windows open up beautiful and diverse views from floor to floor and between interior and exterior spaces. The wooden details have been carefully designed and implemented. The wooden surfaces on the interior have also been successfully used as acoustically absorbing elements.

The winning project of the Wood Award exudes the architectural firm’s extensive experience in designing and building wooden daycare centers and its long, fruitful cooperation with the City of Helsinki. The procurement procedure was a two-stage SR contract and architectural competition.”