Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2011 | Page 34

“It is another chance for
us to demonstrate our new concepts for environmentally-conscious quality living in an urban setting.” The aim is for the
zoning revision to be completed in 2012.

Jätkäsaari Goes Green
In addition to providing cutting-edge residential solutions
along the rails around the capital region, SRV is very much
involved in the development
of the old harbour and industrial areas which have been left
vacant as main harbour operations have been moved eastward
to Vuosaari.
One prime example of
this trend is Jätkäsaari, a former goods harbour to the west
of downtown Helsinki. SRV is
partnering up with Sitra, the
Finnish Innovation Fund, and
VVO to realise a low carbon
housing and commercial building complex in the area.
The €60 million project –
known as Low2No – is scheduled for completion by the end
of 2012. The ambitious venture
aims to generate research and
32 Nordicum

evidence that will inform the
policy, innovation and practices that will drive future low/no
carbon development in the built
environment.
The building complex
covers 22,000 square metres and
will provide new residences, office and retail space. Emissions
will be reduced through building
design and performance, mobility systems and food production.
As a forerunner in sustainable construction, SRV looks at
Low2No as yet another opportunity to showcase the company’s
long-term commitment to green
ideology. The project team contains top experts both internationally and from Finland, conforming well to the “SRV Approach” which means finding
the best possible partners for
each project.
“For us, working on different cooperation models is part
of our everyday operations – we
believe in the power of partnerships and are especially interested in participating in ventures
where there are entire areas or
bigger entities under development,” says Jouko Pöyhönen.

Get Together
Collaboration with investors –
both domestic and foreign – has
yielded good results in the past.
Pöyhönen comments that SRV
wants to start talking with the
investors very early on in the
game.
“This is a way to achieve
better risk management but also a great instrument to discover new opportunities.”
According to Pöyhönen,
cooperation with also the public
sector has intensified over the
years. Municipalities, for example, wield a lot of power through
land use strategy, and SRV is interested in exploring the options
together with the municipalities.
Perhaps the greatest public sector reference for SRV in
recent years is the Helsinki Music Centre which will host its
opening concert on 1 September 2011. Owned by the State of
Finland (together with the City
of Helsinki and Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE) the Music Centre is located just off the
main railway station in downtown Helsinki.

Pöyhönen says that the
downtown location has offered
plenty of challenges along the
way, but the company has been
able to find cost-effective solutions from day one. In recognition of this, Rakennuslehti magazine selected Helsinki Music
Centre to be the ‘Best Worksite
2010’ in Finland.

Face the Music
When asked about the secret of
success, Pöyhönen replies that
SRV has been able to “build on
tradition”: basically the same
working crew which realised
the Kamppi shopping centre
and Flamingo entertainment
oasis (both previous Worksite
of the Year winners) have put
their skills to good use at Music Centre.
“With a proven track record that we can operate effectively in a tight spot, we are confident that we can handle demanding new projects, such as
Keilaniemi Towers.” b