SustainableDevelopment

Society

Environment

E2ECOLOGY + ECONOMY

A TIMBER DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION

Economy

COMPETITION BRIEF

©2010 the City of Kouvola

C I T Y B Y T H E K Y M I R I V E R

Green Spirit

www.kouvola.fi /E2

IntroductionIncreased environmental consciousness and economic challenges refl ect the current global concerns. Tackling the climate change, improv-ing energy and cost effi ciencies, and using the renewable resources raise questions about the environmental impacts of the construction clus-ter. The effi ciency requirements of industrialized construction business parallel to the inevitable need to cut greenhouse gas emissions call for new approaches.

The construction cluster consumes approximately half of the – primarely non-renewable – raw mate-rials and produces 40% of the waste. The build-ing occupancy takes 40% of the total energy con-sumption and only a little less of the CO2 emis-sions. The energy required for building materials industry and its GHG emissions have caught very little attention until now.

Sustainable design solutions preventing climate change have a signifi cant effect on the carbon footprint of the buildings. The European Union has set an objective for all new buildings to fulfi ll the zero energy building requirements after 2019. Ad-ditionally, the EU calls for reducing the CO2 emis-sions 80% by 2050 in comparison to the level of 1990. All these aspirations mean a tremeandous challenge to the construction cluster.

The changing consumer behavior introduces a new situation to the construction cluster, and in particular, to the housing development. Sustain-ability and low utility costs are already success factors today in housing sales, but tomorrow they will be crucial. Residential construction industial-ized in the 50s enabling cost-effective suburban housing for a greater number of people. Environ-mental concerns arose not until two decades lat-er. At that point building techniques had already matured and become business as usual. Today, the quality of housing, user friendliness, and de-lightfull design steer the choiches of consumers more than before.

Timber developments involve a substantial na-tional interest. Wood is the most signifi cant natu-ral resource serving also as a carbon sink.

The forest cluster provides employment either directly or indirectly to the largest group of labor force. Adding the value of the forest cluster con-tinues to serve the Finnish well-being in the fu-ture.

Timber is the leading material in constructing summerhouses and single family houses. Multi-story residential buildings, however, have the most substantial role in residential construction which enables a denser city structure enhancing sustainability. New solutions are needed for pre-fabricated housing in order to better utilize the carbon sink of timber developments. Effective use of wood benefi t the national economy and prevent the climate change.

Launching a new industrial tradition with an im-pact over centuries is possible today. The change takes place only through the cooperation of multi-ple stakeholders. Developers and investors have a key position but they need support and solu-tions from other parties, such as designers and component manufacturers. Cost effi cient, sus-tainable, and high quality design, production, and installation solutions serve common interests.

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“Timber developments involve a substantial national interest. Wood is the most signifi cant natural resource serving also as a carbon sink.” — New climate friendly solutions utilizing wood benefi t the industry, cities, and people around the globe.

InvitationThe City of Kouvola allocates resources for launching large scale production of wooden pre-fabricated multi-story residential buildings. The city organizes an international Design and Build competition for pilot site in collaboration with the local energy company KSS Energia, the Finnish Forest Industries Federation, the Finnish Forest Foundation, the Finnish Innovation Fund, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Inno-vation, and the Regional Council of Kymenlaakso. The Finnish Association of Civil Engineers and the Finnish Association of Architects have partnered with the City of Kouvola in organizing the competi-tion.

The competition aims at developing a concept of a multi-story residential building with wooden structural frame. This concept should introduce relevant construction elements and demonstrate those in a residential development on the pilot site of Kouvola. The competition is organized as a design competition according to the Public Procurement Act of Finland. After the Request fo Qualifi cations period up to four multiprofessional teams are inveted to submit a proposal to the competition.

The teams are expected fullfi ll the following re-quirements:

1) Design competence: consists of at least archi-tectural and structural knowledge, HVAC and low-energy expertise, fi re resistance design, and cost planning.

2) Industrial partner for timber development: con-struction element and/or material manufacturer and construction partner having an objective to apply products and methods for multi-story apart-ment buildings. The team has to propose at least a preliminary plan for implementation unless the construction partner has not been named at the competition phase.

Additionally, other experts may belong to the team if their knowledge is relevant to the proposal.

The competition is a concept competition for searching construction elements and production methods for multi-story residential buildings. A concept means in this context a prescriptive and replicable approach that can be applied locally to diverse multi-story timber developments. A right to develop the pilot site in the City of Kou-vola is reserved for the winner or the winners of the competition. The competition provides at the same time an opportunity for product devel-opment jointly with the stakeholders associated in the construction process. The participants of the competition are expected to have a strategic aim focusing on design, building element manu-facturing, installation, or other product or service needed in timber development process. Wood as such does not have to be part of the product or service, but the commercial activity of the partici-pant needs to serve use of timber in multi-story developments. The participating companies aim at creation of new, competitive products and ser-vices which enhance their business interests.

The solutions for multi-story timber developments provide potentially new industrial production for the forest cluster under structural change. The region of Kouvola is home to chemical forest industry operating in a globally competitive con-text causing a reduction in the local production volume. Factories have been closed, but on the other hand, investments take place abroad. The challenge of Kouvola is to progress new wood product industry in the region.

The City of Kouvola allocates resources on the renewal of wood product industry as outlined in its Economic Development Strategy. The city aims to promote the local timber construction by pro-viding the companies an opportunity to introduce new energy-effi cient and environmental friendly building solutions. This competition is the fi rst sign of the new agenda. The city will utilize the results of the competition in a wider context in its local Building Code, zoning, and site policies. Experiences drawn from the competition can be applied nationwide.

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BackgroundFinland has a signifi cant national interest to pro-mote the use of wood in the constuction cluster. Forest covers 78% of the total area of the country. The capability of the industry in utilizing the for-est has weakened during the last few years. The value added of timber products has sunken 68% during 1997-2008.

Forest industy produces 20% of the exports. The potential new value adding products have a ca-pacity to increase the export and production for the internatinal markets

The forest industry is experiencing a severe struc-tural change in Finland. The consolidations, buy-outs of fi rms, and centralization of the production are expected to continue within the business. The forest industry develops new products and busi-nesses during the times of structural change, which it has experienced several along the history of the industry. The forest industry continues to have a central role in the information and service society. The structural change of the 21st century offers an opportunity for the wood product indus-try to reach the international cutting edge.

The prevention of the climate change is a global interest. Wood is the most important natural re-source in Finland and a signifi cant carbon sink. The forest and the soil store CO2 from the air an amount that equals over third of the annual re-lease of carbon in Finland . Carbon is also stored in wooden products.

The competion for the economically refi neable raw materials will increase escalating the price levels. At that situation, recycling and use of wood becomes even more important. Refi ning technol-ogies and mitigation of environmental damages of the mining industry are the key to the feasibility of using non-renewable resources . For example, the sources of iron ore are expected to last 41-65 years in case the economic growth increasing the consumption is at least 2% but at most 5% (Earthscan 2002).

Added value of the saw mill industry in Finland:€/m3

41 44

30293332

28

404042

57

18

20012000 2002 2003 2004 20051997 1998 1999 2006 2007 2008*

46

61

-68%

Added Value

Exclusion of a temporary demand peak2006-2007

Illustration: Symbioosi Partners Oy

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Illustration: Symbioosi Partners Oy

Added Value:

Produc�onCosts(Raw material,

energy, investmentsexcl. wages)

Added ValueValue ofProduc�on

Comparison on the energy consumption of manufacturing wall structures

Comparison on the carbon footprint of wall structures

Original graphs and studies: Mikko Viljakainen

Comparison on the consumption of natural resources of wall structures

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0

500

1000

1500

2000

-500

Sandwich-structurewall

LECA-wall

AAC-wall

Brick wall Steel partitionprofile wall Wooden wall

Consumption of non-renewable energy in manufacturing (MJ/m2)

Total energy consumption (MJ/m2)

LECA=Light Expanded Clay AggregateAAC=Autoclaved Aerated concrete

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Consumption of non-renewable natural resources (kg/m2)

Total consumption of natural resources (kg/m2)

Sandwich-structurewall

LECA-wall

AAC-wall

Brick wall Steel partitionprofile wall

Wooden wall

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

Carbon footprint (kg/m2)

Sandwich-structurewall

LECA-wall

AAC-wall

Brick wall Steel partitionprofile wall Wooden wall

Theoretically, the natural resources could last for centuries, even for thousands of years. However, already the basic raw materials, such as refi n-ing sand and gravel, increase the costs and the climate change in the metropolitan regions. For example, in the City of São Paolo with 22 million inhabitants 75% of the sand use for construction is transported over 100 km (Coelho 2001).

From the perspective of climate change another key issue along the material effi ciency are the non-renewabel energy sources used for manufac-turing building elements. Wood product industry provides renewable energy sources as side prod-ucts of the manufacturing process. The waste material can be used for local energy production or it can be fed into the electrical network and sold to the consumers.

An important quality of wood is its renewal that has growing importance not only as a carbon sink but also to the competitive pricing of wood products used in the construction industry. Com-petititve price levels are a necessity for a techno-logical transition to take place. In the end of the day, the consumer choices determine the success of wood products and the growth of the industry. Despite of the increased environmental aware-ness the fact remains that the buyers on the hous-ing market are reluctant to pay extra for apart-ments in wooden developments. For example, the research of the National Consumer Research Centre studying consumer behavior concludes the following (Haanpää 2009):

a) consumer behavior changes slowly b) the responsibilty of the consumers has not in-creased a lot during the last fi ve yearsc) environmental criteria affect the choices of con-sumers, but the value of environmental friendli-ness has not increased. d) consumers are not willing to pay more for or-ganic productione) consumers value more than before down-shift-ing, individuality, easiness, and good service, and the price is no longer the most important selec-tion criterium as the overall level of wealth has increased.

One starting point for the competition is that wood does not have any sentimental value as material

but it is just a material among many others. Wood is used for its appearance and technical qualiti-ties in products and solutions in which it fulfi lls the expectations of the consumers in terms of quality and cost-effi ciency. In other words, prefab-ricated multi-story developments are not expected to be successful based on the sentimental value of wood, for which the consumers are willing to paymore in comparison to other developments constructed with other materials.

The current image of wood is related to small scale construction, such as summerhouses, of which 98% are wooden. The majority of the single family houses are also wooden - two out of fi ve have a wooden structural frame and three out of four have a wall sheeting made of timber. In Finland the multi-story residential buildings rep-resent the majority of the total housing stock. Ap-proximately 43% of all apartments are located in a multi-story building. In the European Union only Spain has more multi-story residential buildings of its housing stock than Finland. Every two out of fi ve new apartments are in a multi-story build-ing. The market share of timber developments is less than 1% in buildings more than two stories (ground level and 1st fl oor). (Karjalainen 2010)

A successful technological transition towards timber developments requires changing image of wooden developments. Larger scale solutions need to support this change in a credible man-ner. Until now, wooden building with more than 2-storys, have been constructed in Finland in eight regions altogether 13 developments, 31 build-ings, and 517 apartments. Two offi ce buildings have been built: the METLA-building in the City of Joensuu, and FMO (Finnforest Modular Offi ce) in the City of Espoo. A third wooden offi ce building, the Pilke-Building of National Forest Administra-tion (Metsähallitus) will be completed in the City of Rovaniemi in 2010. (Karjalainen 2010)

The majority of the Finnish multi-story timber de-velopments were constructed in the late 90s. At the beginning of 2010 several new projects have been launched. The interest towards timber de-velopments has risen again. The Finnish stake-holders were in the 90s, as were their Scandina-vian counterparts, developing the nordic tradition of multi-story timber constuction. The concept of

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timber development progressed signifi cantly, for example in Sweden and in Scotland, in compari-son to Finland.

New business activity emerged on the Swedish market — both in manufacturing and installation. The pilot projects with a very good start did not launch a technological transition in Finland lead-ing to organized supply and delivery chains. The cost-effectiveness was not good enough in com-parison to the advantages of timber development. The expected savings of 20-30% in construction costs in comparson to concrete developments were not realized. At best the timber develop-ments reached the conventional cost level. Due to the small number of developments and low demand related to the minimal production, the necessary production methods and design solu-tions did not have time to mature. Therefore, the market advantage brought by skill and practice remained out of reach. Also the constant changes in building codes (fi re protection, sound-proofi ng and insulation) made it diffi cult for the technical design solutions to become conventional prac-tice.

Manufacturing of prefabricated wooden multi-story buildings is based on cost-effective, high quality, reliable, and easily adaptable structural frames. Currently, four different types of struc-tural frames are in use and under continuous de-velopment:

1) Column-Beam-Slab -structure2) Platform-structure

3) CLT (Cross Laminated Timber) technique4) Structures based on Box Units

A fi fth potential structural frame could be, for example, diverse systems based on comb struc-tures. Each of the structures has its strengths, weaknesses, and best forms of application in cur-rent conventional practice, for example, in terms of the hight of the building. Except for the Plat-form-structure, there is no experience in Finland in using the structural systems in a large scale and multi-story timber development.

Looking merely at the stuctural systems is not enough considering the objectives of this com-petition. Structural frames are part of the whole for which this competiton searches solutions. For example, design, building elements, installa-tion, and site logistics all form a comprehensive solution that is the key to the competitiviness of multi-story timber developments that become ”business as usual” solutions. A starting point of the competition is also to raise questions about other potential success factors, such as services and marketing, that can be crucial in progressing technological transition for wood product indus-try.

ObjectivesIncreasing the number of multi-story timber de-velopments requires multiprofessional knowl-edge and solutions based on combined skills. The objective of the competitions is developing and demonstrating wooden multi-story buildings and approaches related to them. This Competi-tion Brief provides the invited teams a framework for asking the right questions and producing the solutions. This Brief is rather a platform for inno-vation than a set of requirements to be fulfi lled.

The teams have the following tasks:1. Propose a solution for design, manufac-

turing, installation, and other relevant methods or services progressing wood-en multi-story developments that meet high requirements for energy-effi ciency(nearly passive energy level).

2. Demonstrate the feasibilty of the proposal on

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Timber developments in Sweden, Limnologen, Växjö:

Photo: Markku A. Karjalainen

a pilot site in the City of Kouvola considering the evaluation criteria.

3. Envision new business ideas related to pro-posal or supporting its functions and/or prod-ucts.

Detailed objectives for tasks 1–3:

1. The objective is to apply and develop indus-trialized fabrication of timber construction to en-ergy-effi cient multi-story timber developments. Industrialized fabrication means prefabrication or an other method allowing the work on a con-struction site focus primarely on the assembly of components.

The design principles should be based on the best qualities of each material ensuring environ-mental friendly solutions that prevent the climate change. The rigourity of the principles and solu-tins related to them need to be demonstrated with energy and material effi ciency calculations of the buildings designed for the pilot site.

The solutions of the proposal need to fulfi ll the the effi ciency requirements of the law on Energy Certifi cates and its regulations according to the Class A. The calculations have to follow the guide-lines of Section D5 of the National Building Code of Finland.

The design should enable the best possible mate-rial effi ciency. The material effi ciency of the pro-posals need to be calculated covering the main structures. The guidelines and values for green house gas emissions are provided in the appen-dix of this Brief. The teams will receive the appen-dix prior to the start of the competition.

The proposed design approach must allow diverse architectural applications considering locally the requirements of the site. Flexibility and diversity are desired qualities in order the approach to be feasible in different locations of the cities.

The solutions of structure, manufacturing and assembly need to be of high quality and safe, reducing the risks related to construction. The risk management is utterly important for bearing structures, fi re safety, and moisture control. The

proposed approach should enable the construc-tion of an apartment building with 4-8 stories (including ground level). The law on fi re safety is currently under revision in Finland, but the safety of the solutions differing from the standard speci-fi cations need to be verifi ed by fi re protection en-gineering.

The solutions related to transportation, site logis-tics, wheather protection etc. should be present-ed as part of the production and assembly chain. The presentation of the construction process and site arrangements focuses on combing the prod-ucts and services of different stakeholders in a interesting and value adding way to the investors and developers.

The teams should focus in their proposals to the entity of the development process instead of de-tails. Development means in this context that the building design, manufacturing of components and assembling them take place cost-effi ciently, without risks, and fulfi lling the user requirements justifying the investments in wooden multi-story buildings. The profi tability of the project is expect-ed to be calculated in the case of the pilot site.

The total development costs may not exceed the development costs of a conventional multi-story residential building. Improving the cost-effi cien-cy is important without forgetting the enhanced quality and energy-effi ciency. The better the cost-effi ciency of the solution is, the better capabiltity exists for an industrial break-through and com-petitiviness.

2. The teams deliver a desing based on the proposed industrial concept for the pilot site in the local centre of Kuusankoski in the City of Kouvola (please see the next section: Pilot Project of Kouvola). The pilot project aims at opening up new opportunties for local production by serving as a show-case.

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3. The vision behing the new ventures aims at commercializing the products or services of the proposals in the region of Kouvola. The conceptual idea of the teams may contain, for example, a business case illustrating the commercial activity related to the proposed solutions, products, or services. The businesses in the vision make use of the proposed solutions both on national and international level. The primary export area is Russia and in particular the region of St. Petersburg.

The City of Kouvola plans to launch the WoodInno Centre for catalyzing the wood product industry in the region. The WoodInno uses the results of the competition for encouraging production and activities related to wooden building. The vision contains ideas about facilities for enabling test-ing and marketing of structures even in a scale of 1:1. The WoodInno provides a network for both existing local entrepreneurs and new ventures.

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Old factory facilities and brownfi eld areas offer new opportunities for climate friendly businesses in the regions going throug a structural change.

Training Resear

ch P

rod

uct

dev

elopment Projects Design Internation

al netw

orks Pilot factory

WoodInno

EntrepreneurshipMulti-storey buildingsCommercial buildings

OfficesBridges

LogisticsMaterialsServices

. . .

The concept of WoodInno Centre.

Photo: Tea Salonsaari-Eloranta

Information about KouvolaThe City of Kouvola is located in the Southeastern Finland, in the Region of Kymenlaakso. The city has approximately 90 000 inhabitants and it is the 10th largest city in Finland. Kouvola is a sig-nifi cant railway node and a gateway from Europe to Asia through the Trans-Siberian railway. Travel time by rail from Kouvola to the City of Helsinki takes one hour and 23 minutes at fastest. By the end of year 2010 the travel time to St. Petersburg shortens to two hours and 20 minutes.

The structure of employment in Kouvola is based on services which provide income for 61,4% of the labor force in 2006. Refi ning industry em-ployed 28,7% and agriculture 5,4% of which as signifi cant amount relates to the forest industry.

The dwelling structure of Kouvola consists ap-procimately 45% of single family houses (21 000 pcs), 12% of lowrise condominiums (6 000 pcs), and 32% of apartments in multi-story residential buildings (15 000 pcs). Kouvola has the third larg-est number of summerhouses of the Finnish mu-nicipalities. This emphasizes the signifi cance of the region to the recreational activities connected to nature, and in particular to lakes and forest. More information about Kouvola is available at the website www.kouvola.fi .

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Rail connections to East Asia with equal rail width to the Finnish railway network.

Kouvola

Omsk

Beijing

TokyoSeoul

Moscow

Pilot Project of Kouvola

Location and site specifi cationsThe pilot site is located in the centre of the Kuu-sankoski city district in the City of Kouvola. The area allows good connectivity to the existing city structure as part of the neighboring multi-story residential buildings. The location of the site in the centre of Kuusankoski and on the river bank of Kymi River offers the site an interesting poten-tial to become a valued residential area and an iconic city scape. The pilot site connects to the centre of Kuusankoski at the southern end. It is part of the green area along the bank of the Kymi River, on which the Kuusankoski-Building and public library are located. The pilot site is part of the fi rst impression about the centre of Kuu-sankoski when arriving to the area accross the Kymi River.

The pilot site is fl at, but the southern edge of it, near the bank of the Kymi River, falls steep-ly towards the river. The soil consist of clay. The river bank of the Kymi River is not recom-mended for development due to structure of the soil. The land is owned by the City of Kouvola.There are no existing buildings on the area.

Two existing buildings are located next to the pilot site. A commercial building, Kiinteistö Oy Liikek-ara built in 1987, is located at the crossroads of Pallokentäntie and Lukiokuja. The other building, Hotel Sommelo built in 1981, is located in the corner of Kuusaantie and Pallokentäntie. Neither of the buildings is consider to have any value for the cultural heritage.

Municipal water, sewer, and combined heat and power networks exist in the area. Information and electrical networks of TeliaSonera Plc and KSS Verkko Ltd are also located in the area. In the middle of the pilot site exists a pumping sta-tion for sewer network connected with a pressur-ized sewer line underneath the Kymi River. Water and sewer lines have been built in the 60s for the most part. Storm drains connect to a open ditch in the middle of the pilot site. There are not any known problems with the surface water. The area is not known to have any endangered species or natural sites.

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Pilot Site

Illustration: the City of Kouvola

Pallokentäntie

Lukiokuja

Valtakatu

Kuusaantie

Kuusankoski-Building

LibraryHotel

Pappila AreaPappilanpellontie

Traffi c and parkingThe pilot site is part of the expanding centre and very well connected with existing streets and bike paths. The cul-de-sac of Lukiokuja is used as a loading area for the neighboring commercial buildings. A bike path south from Lukiokuja con-nects to the alley of Lukioraitti leading towards north. There is a sand covered path at the shore of Kymi River, however, it ends before reaching the Pappila area which is located west from the pilot site.

The pilot site is located inbetween two city dis-tricts and it is connected to the public bus trans-portation. The nearest bus stop is approximately 200 meters away. For private parking the propos-als should reserve space as follows: one park-ing space for every 75m2 of the gross residential fl oor area, and one parking space for every 60 m2 of the gross commercial fl oor area. Parking should be allocated to the proximity of the build-ing which it serves.

ClimateFinland belongs to the snow forest climate. The City of Kouvola is located on a colder region of the southern coastal Finland affecting a.o. the amount of snow. The mean average temperature of the region is +4 – +5ºC and the annual total amount of rain is over 700 mm. More information about the climate is available at the website of the Finnish Meteorological Institute www.fmi.fi .

City planningRegional zoning planThe Ministy of the Environment has approved a regional zoning plan for the area on May 28th 2008. The plan allows the area to be developed for typical activities of a city center marked as ”C” on the plan.

General zoning planThe city government of Kuusankoski has approved on May 21st 2007 a non-binding general zoning plan 2020. The plan allocates the area for C func-tions except for the recreational area of the river bank which is marked as ”V”. The eastern part of the pilot site belongs to the partial general plan

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Photo: Suomen Ilmakuva Oy / City of Kouvola

approved on May 20th 2002 allowing the area to be developed for residential purposes (marked as ”AK”) and public park areas ”VP-4”. Small struc-tures or buildings serving the park area may be constructed but their distinct characters have to be determined through a local detailed zoning processs.

The pilot site belongs mostly to the partial gen-eral plan approved by the City Government of Kuusankoski in 2008. The renewed plan allows a larger area south from the alley of Lukiokuja for multi-story residential buildings by extending the road of Pappilanpellontie to the road of Pal-lokentäntie. The area to south from the extended road has been reserved for recreational green ar-eas (marked as ”VP-4”) with necessary structures or small scale buildings related to park activities.

The current local detailed plan and the general plans will be revised, if necessary, based on the results of the competition. The current plans do not bind the competititors preparing their propos-als.

ProgramThe competitition looks at solutions for a group of wooden timber developments that can be im-plemented in three or four phases. The competi-tors may propose an overall gross fl oor area for the development. The suggested concept should be applied to 6 to 8 story buildings considering the assesment criteria of the competition. The competitors may also propose additional smaller buildings or buildings combining different scales, or diverse housing solutions.

The teams are expected to study the spatial quali-ties between buildings in addition to interior spac-es. The results aim at versatile and rich surround-ings in which the spatial structure supports the qualities of wooden buildings, different scales, playgrounds, recreational areas, traffi c, and infra-structure.

The proposals may contain solutions for exterior spaces, gardens, storage facilities, bike parking, common spaces, or multipurpose facilities sup-porting the residential structure. In particular, the suggested activites, such as commercial or offi ce spaces, need to be feasible from the perspective of structural frames and other functions.

The proposed concepts also need to consider other locations than the pilot site, for example, from the perspective of noise, safety, satisfaction of inhabitants, views, accessibility, traffi c and real estate development. The solutions have to enable fl exible spatial and apartment layouts supporting different functions and increasing the value of the property.

The site is expected to be developed mainly for residential buildings. The teams may determine the locations of the buildings within the site and hights of the buildings considering the assess-ment criteria. In situating the buildings the teams need to pay attention to the city structure, views, and pedestrian ways on the site. The building and

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Part of the Kuusankoski general plan 2002.

Part of the revised general plan of Kuusankoski in 2008.

apartment typologies should enable a socially sustainable mix of inhabitants, considering the needs of families with children and the elderly. Providing different types of apartments for a num-ber of age groups is important.

The buildings and their surroundings must cre-ate unique, safe, and accessible environments. Safety is also important inside the building, for example, by using low-emissions materials. The teams should pay attention to the versatility of the pedestrian environment, public spaces, and the scale of the streets.

The objective for the residential gross fl oor area is 15 000 m2. In addition, the teams may allocate fl oor area for local services, common spaces, storage facilities, car ports etc.

ProceduresHonorariumEach inivited team will receive an honorarium of 55000 euros excluding VAT for delivering a required submittal. Additionally, travel costs to Finland can be reimbursed up to 6000 euros for each team.

RulesThe rules of the competition are available at the website www.kouvola.fi /E2. The Finnish Law is applied to all eventual interpretations, disputes or other issues related to the competition. Poten-tial disagreement will be in the fi rst hand resolved through negotiations.

Schedule and submittalThe Request for Qualifi cations period begins on the 1st of September 2010 and ends on the 22nd of September 2010. The applications must

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Photo: Suomen Ilmakuva Oy / the City of Kouvola

be delivered to the organizer by email no later than during the fi nal day of the RFQ period. The RFQ process has been announced on the web-pages of the City of Kouvola www.kouvola.fi /E2 and on the public procurement portal HILMAwww.hilma.fi starting on the 20th of August 2010.

All teams answering the RFQ will be notifi ed of the results of selection process no later than on the 30th of September 2010. The selected teams will receive information on the fi nal Competition Brief at the same time, including the appendix. The competition begins at that moment. Repre-sentatives of all selected teams are invited to a workshop taking place in the City of Kouvola dur-ing the 13th - 15th of October 2010.

The competition ends on the 17th of January 2011. The delivery must include the date, no later than the 17th of January 2011, or, the de-livery must be handed at the Registry Offi ce of the City of Kouvola on the 17th of January 2010 before 3pm. The team must send a copy of the receipt issued by the transport company includ-ing the tracking number and the pseudonym of the proposal at E2@kouvola.fi . The entries car-ried by a transportation company must arrive in the City of Kouvola no later than on the 30th of January 2011. Entries potentially arriving after that date can be disqualifi ed. The following name

and address of the recipient must be marked on the package:

Hannu Luotonen, Head of City PlanningCity of Kouvola P.O. Box 85, Torikatu 10, 45100 KouvolaFinland

The cover of the package must be marked with the following acronym: ”E2”.

Jury and expertsThe Jury will prepare evaluation for each propos-al. The Jury has the right to appoint and hear ex-perts.

Members of the Jury:

Mr. Ilmari Absetz, D.Sc., Chief Technology Advisor, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and In-novation

Mr. Aimo Ahti (chair), City Manager on Economic Affairs, the City of Kouvola

Hans Andrén, Projektledare,Växjö kommunföretaget AB

Pekka Heikkinen, Architect, Professor,Aalto University

Mr. Kyösti Jääskeläinen, Executive Director,KSS Energia Oy

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Preliminary Invitation

RFQ

6/20105/2010 8/20107/2010 10/20109/2010 12/201011/2010 2/20111/2011 3/2011

Workshop

Respondent Review

Competition

Jury Evaluation

Award Ceremony

Post-Competition Actions

Diagram on the competition schedule:

Ari Kevarinmäki, Senior Research Scientist, Dr.Sc. (Tech.), the Finnish Association of Civil Engineers

Mr. Jouni Koiso-Kanttila, Architect, Professor,University of Oulu

Mr. Jarek Kurnitski, D.Sc., Senior Lead - Built Envi-ronment, Sitra the Finnish Innovation Fund

Mr. Hannu Luotonen, Head of City Planning,the City of Kouvola

Ms. Liisa Mäkijärvi, Executive Director,the Finnish Forest Foundation

Erik Serrano, Professor, Linnaeus Univeristy

Mr. Tapio Välinoro, Regional Mayor, the Regional Council of Kymenlaakso

N.N., the Finnish Association of Architects

If a member of the Jury is unable to attend the work of the Jury, she or he has the right to appoint another person on her or his place. The organizer of the competition may, if it considers necessary, invite additional members to the Jury. The experts invited by the organizer or the Jury do not have a right to vote. The decisions of the Jury are recom-mendations for further action and implementa-tion of the pilot project.

Assessment criteriaThe Jury will use the following criteria:

1. The quality of the industrial concept• The potential for an industrial break-

through and entrepreneurship related to wooden multi-story buildings in forms of solutions, products, methods or other commercial ideas.

• The adaptability of the proposal to diverse sites considering the local starting points: local identity, attractiveness, meaning of location and taking advantage of the lo-cation.

2. Architecture• Architectural and urban quality• Functional feasibility, effectiveness, and

fl exibility• Potential for variable building and apart-

ment layouts and suitability for diverse inhabitants.

3. Energy and material effi ciency• Energy-effi ciency and environmental

friendliness4. Feasibilty and cost-effectiveness

• Cost-effectiveness• Durability and quality of technical solu-

tions• Fire safety and its innovative solutions• Feasibility and potential for phased imple-

mentation

The evaluation focuses on the overall solution instead of carefully studied details. All four main categories are equally important for a succesful proposal which may not have any crucial mis-judgements or serious weaknesses in any of the above main categories.

CommunicationRepresentatives of all teams are invited to a work-shop at the beginning of the competition. Before the workshop, the teams have a chance to study the objectives of the competition and form ques-tions to help them outline their entry.

The workshop contains interactive presenta-tions and discussion groups. The teams have a chance to ask questions that will be answered in the workshop or shortly after it. All questions, answers, and presentation material distributed in the event are available for all teams. The teams are required to have representatives participating the workshop in order to qualify for submitting an entry. The accomodation and living costs during the workshop wil be covered by the organizer.

It is desirable that the teams start working on their proposal already during the workshop phase. Each team will be provided a necessary meeting room for their internal work. After the workshop the teams have until the 17th of January 2011 to submit their entry.

Announcing the winnerThe Jury aims to complete its work by the end of March 2011. All representatives of the teams will be invited to the award ceremony to present their proposal.

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Submittals and general guidelinesEach team may submit only one entry including the following documents: 1. Identifi cation sheet containing the names of all contributors to the competition entry including the names of the fi rms they represent if any, who the copyright belongs to, and names of the even-tual assistants. Additionally, the name and con-tact details of the team lead must be included. This sheet must be sealed in an envelope and the pseudonym of the team must be clearly written on the front. After the fi nal decision of the Jury all the envelopes will be opened and published together with the competition entries.

2. A3 format manual containing comprehensive proposal. Submitted as pdf.

3. Maximum of fi ve A1 format boards in a vertical orientation covering at least the following objec-tives of the competition: a) A concept for a wooden multi-story residential building based on industrialized production. b) Application of the concept on the pilot site of the City of Kouvola containing at least a site plan (1:500) and layouts of fl oor plans and sections (1:100) and other illusrations visualizing the ap-plication of the concept. c) A business case or other material elaborating the business activity related to the concept, for example, in forms of graphs, calculations, images and written descriptions.

4. Executive summary of the proposal contain-ing maximum of 500 words and three images or graphs. Submitted as pdf.

5. CD or DVD containing the entire material re-lated to the competition entry. Submitted as pdf (300dpi) in a format that allows separating im-ages and renderings from the fi le if necessary.

Other material submitted will not be accepted for review. The organizer does not return the mate-rial after the competition. The organizer does not insure the competition entries.

Eventual changes in schedules or procedures will be informed directly to the leads of the selected teams.

LanguageThe Competition Brief is available both in Finn-ish and English. In case different interpretations on the Brief occur, the Finnish version is consid-ered to be the determining one. The competition entries will be submitted in English, or in Finnish and in that case the team must provide transla-tions in English covering the key points of the pro-posal. The maps and other appendices related to the pilot site will be available in Finnish, and in English covering at least the key information con-tained in the maps. Supplementary information, such as litterature samples, are available in the orginal language of publication.

RightsThe City of Kouvola will acquire ownership of the submitted competition entries. The copyright to an entry will remain with the entrant(s).

The City of Kouvola reserves the right to negotiate with the winner(s) about the development rights for the purposes of realizing the best ideas and solutions of the entry or entries.

Confi dentialityThe competition entries remain confi dential until the decisions of the Jury have been announced. After the announcement the entries may be dis-played and all author information is public. All the documents belonging to the entry must be marked with a pseudonym selected by the team. This pseudonym must be written on the cover sheet and sealed in the envelope. All signs, texts, or other symbols potentially revealing the identity of the author(s) are forbidden. If the confi denti-ality is jeopardized intentionally, the competition entry may be disqualifi ed. The teams must make sure that they remove identifi cation tags etc. from the fi les and the author information of computer programs producing the fi les.

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©2010 the City of Kouvola

Appendices at the website of the competition www.kouvola.fi /E2

Material related to the pilot site:- Base map in dwg-format- Map over the utility networks- Aereal photos- City structure diagram- Street map

Material delivered for the teams:

- Material effi ciency and carbon footprint: source data, instructions and forms for calculating the carbon footprint. Authors: Ari Nissinen (SYKE) and Timo Rintala (Pöyry Building Services Oy).

Examples on literature:

Karjalainen, M. (2002) ”Suomalainen puukerrostalo – puurakentamisen kehittämisen etulinjassa”, dis-sertation, Univeristy of Oulu. (available at http://herkules.oulu.fi /isbn9514266188/)

Viljakainen, M. (2009) ”Trähus i fl era våningar – Opintomatka Ruotsiin 2009”, unpublished

Viljakainen, M. (2009), ”The environmental impact of construction and the manufacture of building prod-ucts”, working paper, the Finnish Forest Industries Federation

Bibliography:Coelho, J. M. (2001) The Mining of Aggregates in the Metropolitan Region of São Paolo. Paper prepared for MMSD.

Earthscan (2002) MMSD Final Report, Breaking New Ground: Mining, Minerals, and Sustainable Devel-opment, International Institute for Environment and Development

Karjalainen, M. (2010) ”Puun käytölle rakentamisessa on valoisat näkymät”, Puumies-lehti 80v juhlanu-mero

Parvinen, P., Alajoutsijärvi, K., Ollila, I., Häppölä, P., Rosendahl, N. (2009) “Suomalaisen puutuoteteollisu-uden jalostusarvon kasvattaminen”, working paper, unpublished, Symbioosi Partners Oy

Viljakainen, M. (2009), ”The environmental impact of construction and the manufacture of building prod-ucts”, working paper, the Finnish Forest Industries Federation

Maps, the City of Kouvola

E2A Timber Development CompetitionThe competition focuses on industrial concepts for wooden multi-story residential developments. New climate friendly solutions aim at increasing the added value of wood and sustainable development. Solutions and services creating a new kind of industrial culture and business lie at the core of the competition.

www.kouvola.fi /E2