The Eastern Finland Construction Project Successful Through Cooperation steering group, consisting of construction clients, designers, consultants, authorities and contractors, selected the KYS New Heart project as the 3-phase 2025 cooperation project in Eastern Finland.
"Our task of choosing the collaboration project of the year was challenging,” admits Kimmo Anttonen, Regional Manager of the Finnish Building Industry Association for Eastern Finland, one of the jury members. “All the nominated construction projects were worthy of the award, but one had to be chosen. The competition was close, but Uusi Sydän stood out and stood on its own level.”
In addition to the KYS project, the candidates included, among others, the K-Citymarket Haapaniemi, the Minna Canth School of the City of Kuopio, and the "cuckoo clock house" projects contracted by Niiralan Kulman Kumoni Oy.
""Thanks to the committed project staff"
"We are proud of the recognition we have received,” says Petri Pyy, the property manager of the North Savo welfare area and the chairman of the alliance's management team. "It's great to hear that such appreciation still exists, and that others have noticed how much work and commitment the project has required. Nothing has come for free."
“We humbly accept the award,” Petri says, and at the same time he would like to thank the project staff who are strongly committed to the project.
KYS is being renewed – the New Heart project is building the hospital of the future
Kuopio University Hospital is undergoing a decade-long renovation. The old facilities will be replaced with modern, flexible solutions. The New Heart project includes the construction of a new 10-story hospital and the renovation of the inpatient ward building, totaling approximately 66,500 square meters.
The project is progressing in four phases, three of which have already been completed. The third phase, which was handed over to the client at the end of October 2025, included an extensive renovation of the inpatient ward building, which was completed in 1959 and is protected by the Building Heritage Act.
The fourth phase is still awaiting its implementation. It will involve the construction of gateways to Kaari Hospital. At the same time, the inpatient ward tower built in 1985 will be demolished. “We know that operations on the campus will continue well into the future. That is why the solutions we came up with were made from a life cycle perspective,” Petri Pyy describes.
A demonstration of the power of collaboration: efficiency, quality and future solutions
The selection made by the Eastern Finland management team, a successful construction project through cooperation, highlights the exceptional demanding nature of the awarded project, its innovative implementation method and its significance in the development of social and healthcare in the region.
The jury explains its choice in detail. The extensive renovation project, implemented using an alliance model in the middle of the KYS campus, was particularly demanding. The building parts to be renovated were connected to the hospital in several places.
The project had succeeded in implementing the key goals of the social and health care reform by combining primary health care and specialized medical care into the same entity, thus bringing significant operational and economic benefits to both the North Savo welfare region and the region's residents.
"Healthcare professionals brought bold and open-minded thinking to the design of the construction project. With new solutions, both care processes and the use of facilities can be improved,” said the chairman of the regional board of the welfare region. Riitta Raatikainen rejoices.
The set goals were achieved in terms of functionality, safety, costs, schedules, and quality objectives. Some of the goals were even exceeded.
""Efficient facilities serving future operations, high-quality implementation, a modern and technologically advanced and forward-looking hospital, standardized facilities and flexible design solutions enabled the integration of primary healthcare into the facilities without major costs," the justification states.
The budget was understated, which, considering the specific features of the project, impressed the jury.
Successful cooperation
Good teamwork and the commitment of all alliance partners to common goals have been the cornerstone of the project from the beginning. Even challenging issues have been resolved in a good spirit.
The cooperation between the project organization and the users has been exemplary. The new facilities, designed for operational conditions and efficient operational processes, serve as an enabler of significant functional change. The jury also praised the very close cooperation between planning and implementation. Rapid response and change management in a demanding renovation project are important when unusual deviations are detected during construction.
"Design and construction progressed hand in hand in the project. Close cooperation between the parties was key to the successful outcome. During the demolition work, joint site inspections were held weekly at the site, ensuring that everyone had an up-to-date picture of the situation on the site and that decisions on crucial issues could be made quickly on site,” Regional Director Nora Sokero From Lapland to raise.
"The low floor height and the surprises that emerged during the demolition work posed challenges in coordinating building services, but with the open innovation brought about by close cooperation, these challenges were also resolved on a rapid schedule,” Noora Sokero says, thanking the smooth cooperation.
When a renovation project progresses within the confines of an existing hospital, communication between the project and the hospital operations becomes particularly important. If necessary, construction proceeds on the terms of the hospital operations.
The jury considered it important in phase 3 of the KYS New Heart project that the project's management structure, decision-making, and information flow supported effective cooperation throughout the extensive project organization and its various stakeholders.
Demanding implementation in the middle of a functioning hospital
Property Manager Petri Pyy considers the third phase of the KYS construction project to be the most challenging. The renovation was carried out in the middle of a functioning hospital. Patient safety and uninterrupted operations were ensured through close communication and coordination of work.
“If communication doesn't work, disruptions occur. Our success was based on everything being agreed upon and anticipated,” Pyy emphasizes.
Lapti Regional Director Noora Sokero agrees with Petri Pyy. “Understanding and taking into account the functions of the hospital departments in the construction site implementation planning was key. For example, two routes ran through the construction site for hospital functions throughout the construction period, and their locations were changed as the site progressed. The safety of the routes was ensured by separating them from the construction site. The high level of safety achieved on the site, both for the functioning hospital and for those working on the site, is a testament to our commitment to the values that are important to us,” Sokero adds.
Focus on life cycle thinking and quality
In the KYS project, all construction-related solutions, including material choices, energy efficiency, spatial and technical solutions, have been designed to support sustainable use. Quality and life cycle have been at the heart of the project.
“We have good standard space solutions and flexibility to convert, so we were able to combine the primary health care departments into this whole,” Pyy says. “This is the most important thing from the perspective of the future operations of our wellness area.”
“For us, the life cycle has meant that we have had to look far into the future at an early stage. All choices and solutions have had to be made with the future in mind. We have also thought about how to service and maintain it. That is why we have invested in quality.”
KYS's strengths are its modern facilities and the latest technology. "They enable our clients to receive the best care and service."
Future facilities and new operating models
“Many of the staff were even moved when they moved from the old premises to the new ones,” Pyy says. Although the users participated in the project early on in the design phase, were able to visualize spatial solutions using VR glasses and participated in virtual orientations, it still makes a lasting impression when you see everything planned in real life in front of you.
KYS's property manager assures that modern facilities, new technology and new operating models will improve the quality of care, but they will also increase the work motivation of the staff. "Our new hospital is also an attractive factor in terms of staff availability."
The new facilities are already visible in KYS's daily life. The schedule was met, the moves are progressing and patient care is starting as agreed.
""Determined cooperation produces results"
Petri Pyy says that the long-term collaboration from phases one and two has been laying the foundation for the success of phase three. “The previous phases deepened our expertise and, in a way, prepared us for this most challenging phase, the renovation phase. Operating models were developed over the years to support this particular project.”
Lapti's Noora Sokero highlights the importance of the principle of continuous improvement in a long-term project. The alliance has been implementing the hospital's renovation since 2018.
"We have developed processes, working methods and systems together so that everyone has maintained a common picture of the situation and the project has progressed smoothly. Even challenging topics have been discussed openly and we have learned lessons together. The smoothness of work is not only important from the perspective of high-quality implementation, but it also ensures that everyone can cope with the work in a long and demanding project."
Petri Pyy can't help but praise those who participated in the project: "We have had a close-knit team in the project, who have always thought of solutions for the best interest of the entire project. The Alliance Model, Lean tools and information modeling have also supported efficient decision-making and rapid response."
Laptin Sokero says: “Over the years, the cooperation and practices have been polished to perfection. This is evidenced by the numerous awards the project has received. The second phase was also chosen as the cooperation project of the year, and the construction site has won several occupational safety awards and was also chosen as the construction site of the year in 2019 by Rakennuslehti.”
The project is an example of how collaboration, determination and an innovative implementation model can solve demanding challenges. The New Heart project not only renovated a historic building, but also created a concrete foundation for the implementation of the goals of the social and health care reform in Eastern Finland.
""This award shows how cooperation and determination produce results," Petri Pyy summarizes.
Challenges are made to be overcome
Regional Manager, Caverion Finland Oy Juho Mustonen has served on the alliance's management team since 2018. "Working in the management team has been easy. From installers to project managers, the work has been unified, professional and mutually supportive," Mustonen says.
“I have never encountered such cooperation in my approximately 20-year career,” he admits. “In the 1C3 phase, cooperation became even more important, as the latest technology had to be fitted into the cramped spaces of an old renovation site. There were also challenges in the schedule, but with excellent cooperation we found a common ground and the site was completed for the client on time,” Juho Mustonen says.
"There were surprises, but we got through them together.”
A-Insinöörit has been extensively involved in the KYS New Heart project. The company has been responsible for structural design, acted as a developer consultant, and contributed its expertise to acoustics and fire safety design, KSL design, moisture management coordination, and geodesign.
""The Alliance's operating environment was already familiar in the third phase of the KYS New Heart project, but the renovation project brought its own surprises," says the senior planning director responsible for the design. Harri Kivistö A-Engineers.
At this stage, the most recognizable part of KYS in terms of cityscape, the inpatient ward tower completed in 1959, was renovated. “Challenges were resolved in the spirit of an alliance. Tough questions and conflicts were discussed in small groups before the project group, and in the end, no issues arose for the management team that had not already been resolved. The alliance’s tools and practices, such as the Big Room, were part of everyday life and supported joint work. In structural design, converting a narrow-frame hospital from the 1960s to modern requirements was a particularly demanding task. The tight layout, low floor heights and the need to change load-bearing structures required precise modeling and flexible cooperation. There were surprises, but we managed to overcome them together,” says Harri Kivistö, Design Director at A-Insinööriet.
Innovative solutions for the future
""In terms of TATE design, the old frame structure solutions and the reinforcements they required, as well as the low floor height, posed their own challenges," says the regional director. Tommi Miettinen, from Granlund Oy's Kuopio regional office. "This required continuous real-time coordination between different design areas and the construction site. As we can see, our goals of facilities equipped with modern technology and future needs were taken into account and implemented. We can be more than satisfied with the end result," says Tommi Miettinen.
""Diamond work"
The comments from the participants in the New Heart project reflect the power of working together: close cooperation produces quality and satisfaction. So too, Are Oy and Siemens Osakeyhtiö are more than satisfied.
"The alliance has included three separate phases, which have included separate development and implementation phases. It has been great to be involved in implementing the project and at the same time follow the development of the alliance activities step by step”, ARE Unit Director Aapo Toivainen says. "The success of the project has been based on the professionalism, long-term cooperation and trust of the various alliance partners. We are proud that we have been able to bring the solid building technology expertise of Are people to this regionally and socially significant project," Toivainen states.
Siemens Osakeyhtiö has also accepted the award with satisfaction. “The diamond-like work and cooperation of the New Heart project have been honed from one project phase to another,” commented a Siemens Osakeyhtiö employee who was involved in the awarded project. Tomi Akiola.
“Construction is a team sport and this team has developed into a winning team,” Akiola enthuses.
Heikki Luukkonen has compiled a story about the third phase of the KYS New Heart project, the award it received, the jury's arguments, personal interviews, and comments from those involved in the project.