Mika Kuukkanen, a civil engineer (BA), has been selected as the recipient of the Concrete Ambassador of the Year 2025 award. Kuukkanen approaches the use of concrete and concrete construction with exemplary passion.
Mika Kuukkanen is a top expert dedicated to concrete construction and concrete work management, specializing in the implementation of tall concrete buildings. He works for SRV Rakennus Oy, where he most recently worked as a foreman in the tower blocks in the Kalasatama area.
Kuukkanen's specialty is exceptionally impressive pure cast surfaces, the implementation of which requires the highest level of professionalism. Pure cast columns created under his supervision can be seen, for example, in the fifth tower building in Kalasatama, called Horisontti, which is Finland's tallest office building and SRV's headquarters.
Kuukkanen's guiding principle is continuous learning. He started working in the construction industry at the age of 13, first training as a carpenter and then as a master builder (BA) and engineer (BA). He is currently one of the first to complete the Master Builder (YAMK) degree.
"Concrete can be used to build sustainably and in a life-cycle-wise manner, and its properties can respond well to the weather stress that climate change is putting on buildings. Particularly in exceptionally demanding construction, exceptionally demanding properties are required from concrete as well as high-quality concreting design, which takes into account temperature management in advance. Replacing cement with an environmentally friendly material, namely blast furnace slag, which is a waste product of the steel industry, has proven to be a good practice. The speed of the exothermic reaction of which is significantly slower than that of cement, has been shown to be a key part of the design of a successful casting. The more you invest in casting, the more likely you are to achieve beautiful and huggable concrete pillars for future generations to admire," says SRV's Mika Kuukkanen.
"Concrete is a seemingly easy material, and it is very easy to build simple structures from concrete. For this reason, it may go unnoticed that building demanding concrete structures requires a great deal of expertise in, for example, concrete technology, environmental management, mass handling and transfer, and low-carbon solutions," says the CEO of the Concrete Industry Association, which awarded the award. Jussi Mattila"You can't learn all these skills just by reading books and studying the Internet, but you become a top expert through continuous development of your skills and practical experience," he continues.
The Finnish Concrete Industry Association hopes that the Concrete Ambassador of the Year award given to Kuukkanen will highlight the importance of material expertise on the construction site and will also inspire other construction supervisors to update and supplement their knowledge of concrete construction.
You can also learn more about Mika Kuukkanen in the article published in Betoni magazine issue 1-2025. in a personal photo.
More information about the Concrete Ambassador of the Year award
The Concrete Industry Association annually awards the Concrete Ambassador of the Year award to a person who has made an exceptionally significant contribution to, for example, technically high-quality, responsible or architecturally high-standard concrete construction or otherwise contributed to the success of the concrete industry in Finland in an exceptionally significant way.
The award recipient will be presented with a miniature safety shoe cast in bronze, mounted on a concrete base, decorated with bronze wings reflecting the ambassador's mission.
The award will be presented for the second time in 2025. The award recipient will be selected by the board of directors of the Finnish Concrete Industry Association.
For more information:
Jussi Mattila
CEO
Concrete industry
Tel. 0400 637 224
Mika Kuukkanen
Responsible foreman
SRV Construction Ltd.
Tel. 040 685 4280