The task of the competition was a "pilot" project for the mass production of wooden multi-storey buildings. The projects had to meet strict energy efficiency standards, to which the Finns are very demanding. A picturesque plot in the Finnish town of Kouvola was chosen to demonstrate the experimental houses, where about 15 thousand m2 of wooden, environmentally friendly and easily adaptable housing will be sold.
The project, called PUU-BO, developed by BIG in cooperation with partners - Pirmin Jung Engineers for Wood Constructions, AOA Anttinen Oiva Architects Ltd, Vahanen Engineers and Stora Enso, is a flexible modular system that combines different-height residential buildings (apartment buildings and cottages) in single building-tape. Following the contours of the relief, this structure curves along the entire stretch of the river, and forms several courtyards-"pockets" connected to the park. The "hilly contour" of the structure, which rises to 8 floors, then descends to 1-2, meets the goal - to maximize views of the surrounding landscape. The low-rise residential areas around the courtyards have access to private gardens; penthouses in the upper part of the complex - access to roof-terraces.
A pedestrian path runs along both sides of the building, connecting gardens, a parking lot and a park into a single green space. It is connected to the existing urban pedestrian network, and the playgrounds, sports areas and the sauna of the new residential complex are equally accessible to all residents of Kouvola.
The structural system, assembled from modules like a constructor, easily adapts to a variety of building types, not limited to an experimental residential project: as the authors claim, the same elements can be used in an office building or even a wooden skyscraper - without losing efficiency. The PUU-BO residential unit develops the ideas of the famous “Ino House” by Le Corbusier. According to Bjarke Ingels, their project, thanks to the combination of original building technology and wooden structures, provides endless alternatives to the already boring standard concrete boxes.
According to the jury, the BIG project was the only one that truly accepted the slogan of the competition: to look at the spaces around and between buildings as a potential opportunity for "green" development. BIG partner Thomas Christoffersen explains their victory by the fact that the main challenge they set for themselves was to create an innovative system that can match any “built environment” and program, rather than focusing on the current market demand; such a system takes into account the key concepts of "sustainable development" and will be competitive with other construction methods in the future.
N. K.
