SRV and Helsinki University Properties Ltd have signed an agreement for the construction of a new building for the Helsinki School of Natural Sciences in Kumpula. The project will be carried out as a cooperative project management contract valued at about EUR 22 million, of which SRV’s contract accounts for around EUR 16.5 million. Since autumn 2020, SRV has been involved in drawing up the project plan for the building as part of a consortium that was assembled during the tender phase. The project progressed to its approximately six-month development phase in early 2021, and now that the implementation agreement has been signed, the project will be entered into SRV’s order backlog. SRV is currently working on several school construction projects in the capital city region and Western Finland. 

The new upper secondary school premises will be located at the University of Helsinki’s Kumpula Campus. The aim is to create a safe, healthy and adaptable learning environment that will meet the needs of 900 students as part of the university campus. The new five-storey building will have a gross area of approximately 5,400 square metres and will be built using wooden structures. During the development phase, the parties worked together to find the implementation solutions that would best meet the project’s objectives. Construction work is scheduled to begin in summer 2021, and the new upper secondary school will be opened in time for the 2023 autumn term.

“We’re looking forward to playing our part in the construction of another new school building, this time on the Kumpula Campus. It’s great to be involved in building the learning environments of the future. We currently have several major school projects underway in the capital city region, in Myllypuro, Maunula and Arabia in Helsinki, and in Matinkylä, Tapiola and Leppävaara in Espoo,” says SRV’s Jouni Forsman, Senior Vice President, Business Premises, Helsinki Metropolitan Area.

Arkkitehdit AFKS are responsible for the architectural design of the school, and Quattroservices Oy for its technical building systems.  Locating the new building on the university’s Kumpula Campus will enable the upper secondary school to make efficient shared use of both its new premises and the university’s existing premises. Building partially shared spaces will create a wide range of opportunities for both studying natural sciences and creating a greater sense of community on campus. Users have been involved in the project from the outset in order to create a foundation for innovation and achieve the best possible results.

“The project will support teacher training and the University of Helsinki’s other extensive scientific education activities in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, while also enabling the rapid testing of new forms of cooperation with our partner school. It will also give upper secondary school students close-hand experience of how science is taught at a top university.  The school’s on-campus location is expected to increase students’ interest in studying in Kumpula,” says Kai Nordlund, Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Helsinki.

“This project is a great example of how cooperation with the best professionals can develop a sustainable campus," says Jaana Ihalainen, Property Director at Helsinki University Properties.