Ilmala Aura is being built at a good pace near the Ilmala train stop. From AuraLive you have been able to see how in a few months the office building has risen from the foundations to the height of several floors. Rising grandly into the landscape of Ilmala, Aura’s new kind of project planning phase has made the construction and implementation of the house extremely fluent. Developer manager Miska Sipiläinen from Hartela describes the key to the renewed design work is the partners’ open attitude and setting clear common goals.
The project development of Ilmala Aura started at the beginning of 2021 when Hartela participated in the development of the client’s project. Hartela’s devoted office team, under the leadership of developer manager Miska Sipiläinen and project development director Ilmari Hämäläinen, started to conceptualize an office building that meets modern needs. From the start the architectural firm ARCO Architecture Company was also involved in the design. After a compact and efficient planning period Hartela’s team succeeded in summarizing thecustomer’s needs and wishes as the plan was selected as the winner.
– Right from the start we got a clear picture of the customer’s needs and wishes. Based on these we set out to design a modern office building that meets the requirements of modern work. Our strong knowledge of the Ilmala region was also to our advantage, as we have been heavily involved in the development of the region, says Hartela’s developer manager Miska Sipiläinen.
After achieving a sufficient occupancy rate, the project development phase began during which a new type of operating system was built for desing work with partners. Since the project had several special features to consider, the Hartela team set out right from the start to solve e.g. development targets related to building engineering planning with a partner.
The owner of the plot YLE Eläkesäätiot and the city of Helsinki worked in good cooperation with Hartela and the client right from the beginning of the planning phase which enabled a pleasant result for all parties. In the project
development phase the design organization consisted of Granlund, Ramboll, ARCO, Sweco and Jensen & Hughes in addition to Hartela.
– For the first time we set out to do a project with such a large organization already in the early stage of the project planning phase. Our goal was to get more advanced initial data for actual project planning, implementation,
computation and purchasing teams. Our experience with this approach is very positive. Even though the new steps carried out for the first time were a bit more demanding, now in the implementation phase we can see the real benefit of the effort of the planning work, describes Miska Sipiläinen.
Renovating the development work stabilized even when the world was in disorder
Although the planning and implementation of Ilmala Aura have progressed at a rapid pace the world situation has still taken surprising turns during this time. For example with the war in Ukraine which have challenged the construction industry in general and brought cost pressures. Even in this situation the collaborative planning work has brought cost efficiency in a good way and helped in a difficult to predict situation.
– In the future we will also start similar projects with this new kind of project development method and with the strength of a large planning organization. This pilot worked well and the benefits it brings are already visible to all
partners. It’s nice to be able to renew the design phase by emphasizing the project development of the entire construction industry and we are happy that we at Hartela are ready to try new things and to innovate and test ideas in practice as well, says cheerfully Miska Sipiläinen.
The fruits of Ilmala Aura’s functional design can be enjoyed when the project is completed in 2024. The strengths of the office building are flexibility and space efficiency, location and accessibility, and consideration of the employees needs with excellent working conditions. In the project responsibility has been taken into account in a variety of ways, as Ilmala Aura is applying for e.g. LEED GOLD certificate after completion.
