The Senate Properties and Finland’s Environmental Administration arranged an international design competition for the new main office of Finland’s Environmental Administration to be built in Viikki, Helsinki. A jury has unanimously chosen “Apila” as the winner. The creators of this project are the architectural firms JKMM Oy and ECADI (East China Architectural Design & Research Institute Co, Ltd.). The working team also included LOCI Maisema-arkkitehdit Oy, Finnmap Consulting Oy along with a person in charge, the head of division Antti Vilén, and engineering office Granlund Oy.

The purpose of the competition was to set new trends in the design of energy and ecologically efficient office buildings. The goal was to encourage the design of an almost “zero energy use building”, whose main materials leave a minor carbon footprint. The winning building was to be both visually distinctive and environmentally friendly.

Participation in the competition was by invite only and was arranged in cooperation with the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA) and the Association of Finnish Civil Engineers (RIL). Three Finnish and three foreign working teams were invited to take part in it. Along with architects, the teams contained special designers and the experts in ecologically sustainable building.