Mari Toivanen, the principal of Siilinjärvi's Ahmo school center's middle school, does not hide her happiness after hearing that the Itä-Suomi management team of the construction project successful through cooperation has chosen the Ahmo school center site as the cooperation project of the year 2024. When you listen to the thoughts of the client, the user, the designers and the builder, it becomes clear that the roots of cooperation in Ahmo's project are deeper than usual .
Easy and uncomplicated cooperation
"We've been in business for almost ten years," he says Mari Toivanen, Principal of Ahmo middle school. "As a teaching staff, we have dreamed of what the new Ahmo school center will really be like." He smiles. Wishes are becoming reality right in front of our eyes.
"This is a completely new world for me, this construction. Completely unknown to me", Mari laughs. "Still, I was just planted in it. We should start planning a new school."
Middle school and high school principals, teachers and students have been involved all along. Taken along. Fortunately for Mari, there are a group of skilled workers around him.
"I feel that the builders here are top class professionals. At the beginning there were a thousand and one questions. Sometimes you had to really twist the iron wire, for us laymen. It's also a skill". Ahmo's principal laughs and mutters thanks. "Cooperation with the builders has been really uncomplicated. It has been easy to trust their actions."
Challenging starting point
Culture director of Siilinjärvi municipality Antti Jokikokko not exactly surprised by the recognition received by Ahmo's site. Cooperation has been present all along. "Yes, there are several issues in the background and the successful implementation of all of them."
The starting point has been very challenging. The new school is being contracted on the same plot where Ahmo's middle school and high school students go to school. There are more than 800 of them.
In the first construction phase of Ahmo's school center, all school facilities will be built between the two existing buildings. After that, parts of the old school will be demolished. The gym and yard will remain in the second construction phase.
"The school runs as normal, even though we are in the middle of a construction site. This has been done really well. Of course, we have made arrangements so that the students' safety has been guaranteed. There has been really good cooperation here," says Antti.
Antti Jokikokko, who has closely followed construction for a couple of ten years, says that builders approach many things in a completely different way than in the old days. "There is no issue so small that it could not have been brought up. The builder has been very attentive."
The destination is progressing on schedule, maybe even a little ahead of schedule. The designers also receive thanks from the director of education.
It seems that all the residents of Siilinjärvi are waiting for the school to finish.
"When something new comes in, it helps to survive in those spaces that are not optimal right now," says Antti Jokikokko.
Efficient and compact facilities far into the future
Facility manager Jukka Kellokumpu says that it all started about eight years ago, when indoor air challenges began to appear in current schools. After many stages, the entire middle school gradually moved to slices. "An attempt was made to repair the sealing. We thought about the renovation, even expanding the school, until it was decided that we should start doing something new. The goal was a more efficient school that would serve well into the future."
Siilinjärvi had gained good experiences with the life cycle model with the new health center. Would it also fit into the school world?
A common goal can be seen in everything we do
Siilinjärvi municipality is a major developer in Savo. With the help of its ambitious investment program, it will efficiently put its municipal infrastructure in order, for the benefit of the citizens.
Ahmo School Center is not just any school. In addition to the middle school and the high school, it contains a multi-purpose space consisting of a hall, dining room and cabinet spaces, which will serve both municipal residents, organizations and the civic college in the evenings and weekends, turning into a sports hall or a venue for various events when necessary. Ahmo school center is a central place in Siilinjärvi.
Lukkaroinen Arkkitehdit Oy is responsible for the architectural design of the site.
Acting as project manager of the project Hannu-Pekka Seppänen A-Insinöörit from Rakennuttaning Oy says that the project started as a public tender. "It also included a competitive negotiation procedure that lasted 8 months. During that time, negotiations were held with the two bidders who were selected to continue. After going through it, we received the final offers." The price-quality ratio decided. YIT Suomi Oy received a project according to the life cycle model to do.
"We would have had the opportunity to start construction immediately, but based on the contractor's proposal, we agreed to start the project at the best time of year for construction," Hannu-Pekka recalls. "A 4-month long development phase of the plans was obtained, in which all design solutions and the necessary comments were reviewed."
"We were able to build with ready-made plans and work very efficiently. Still, the schedule settled into the framework that had been planned at the very beginning," says Hannu-Pekka. He also believes that the school center project has a common, strong quality destination. "Let's work together towards a common goal. And it shows in everything. Also outwards."
The project manager considers the award received for the cooperation to be a good sign of attention. "You have come to the right place. It is deserved by the whole group. It's great that already at this stage it has been possible to convince and show how cooperation works."
Consideration of the user's needs is the most important thing in projects
"For YIT, schools are really important projects in our area," he says Ville Ahokas, responsible foreman of the Ahmo school center. "We wanted this project. We invested in advance planning, already at the bidding stage," he emphasizes and says that he did a lot of work on production planning at the time. "We sought a competitive advantage for our project there."
Ahokas considers the consideration of the user's needs in projects to be the most important. "Before the customer had even made his choice, we already had a high-quality production plan with schedules ready. The quality plans were also very advanced."
Ville Ahokas sees that the hallmark of a successful construction project is close cooperation with the client right from the planning stage of the project. An essential part of that is the creation of an atmosphere that inspires trust, as well as the honest handling of especially challenging issues. "At that point, when the matter was confirmed and the project remained with us, the game opened up even more." The plans were refined to be even better suited to the user's wishes. The development of production efficiency and systems to meet the needs of the construction site took center stage.
"The cooperation has been close in every area," Ville thanks all the project's parties for the award.
"Children and young people are a priority"
Olli Lipponen, the principal of Siilinjärvi high school, says that he jumped into the project in the fall of 2022. We were in the phase of the competitive negotiation procedure. The planning work was already quite far along. Preliminary drawings were made and school staff and students were involved.
"It's always felt like we've been kept on the map of where we're going. We have been able to influence things and we have been listened to. The wishes have already been taken into account in the planning phase. When the final drawings were made, we still had the opportunity to make small changes", Lipponen thanks for the flexible cooperation. "Customer service works in every direction."
The central wish of the high school has been to find adaptability for the new premises. "Although there are some outlines for future teaching, we don't necessarily know in which direction upper secondary education will turn in the next 20 years, how teaching technology will develop or what kind of pedagogical solutions will be made," Lipponen reflects. "The effort has been made to ensure that the spaces can be adapted to suit the needs of the moment."
The high school principal is grateful for the recognition he received. "There are several factors that have contributed to the fact that the project has received attention. The project is really well managed, but the best thing is that everyone does things together."
"Children and young people are a priority. A school is made for them. We have to think about their future employment."
"It went well"
Siilinjärvi premises manager Jukka Kellokumpu is satisfied with how things are going at the construction site of the Ahmo school center. "We have done well there together, both the users and the builders. Security is at a high level and information is working. Many things have positively surprised me."
Jukka mentions that there has been a good spirit in the project since the negotiation phase. He praises the well-done ground work. The criteria required by the municipality have been met. "YIT has selected people with whom we have gotten along really well. Trust has been created right from the first negotiations."
Generally, public developers retreat into their shells when the economy slows down. There is swimming upstream in Siilinjärvi. "When the construction side has been a little quieter, we have had enough good factors. It's kind of our luck. Now has been a good time to build", Jukka sums up. "We had a good time."
Can cooperation be seen in the construction site?
In the Ahmo school center, the wishes and dreams of the users and the desire of hard-working people to do their best come together. It creates genuine cooperation, which is also visible on the outside.
Talonrakennusteollisuus ry's regional manager for Eastern Finland Kimmo Anttonen says A successful construction project in Eastern Finland through cooperation - management team impressed by what they saw. "Clean, well-managed construction site."
In Siilinjärvi, indoor air issues have been on the surface for a long time. Special attention has been paid to them in this destination as well. The challenging work environment raises the importance of mutual cooperation of all parties involved in the project. "Companies want to use their own expertise as well as possible. That's why they put their best people to work, both planning guidance and implementation," says Anttonen.
The cooperation has worked
"You feel safe when you actually see that the school building is starting to rise," sighs Mari Toivanen, the principal of Ahmo middle school, with happiness.
"The cooperation has worked. The meetings are very well structured. The builder has taken care of things to the last detail. The user's point of view has always been asked. It has been an interesting journey and process."
"Yes, we are grateful here," sums up Mari.
Text: Heikki Luukkonen