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Fresh ideas for facade upgrade of Muijala factory |
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FIRST PRIZE IN CEMBRIT'S FAÇADE COMPETITION SHARED BY TWO TOP DESIGNERS OF THE FUTURE
The standard of the facade design competition for students, organised by fibre cement board specialist Cembrit Oy, was astonishingly high, so the jury decided to award first place jointly to two submissions. A prize of 4,000 euros was today awarded to Tapio Kangasaho for his work "Kittilä" and also to Teemu Haapsaari for his entry "Flow". In addition, a 1,000 euro honorary mention was won by two competition entries: Ilkka Palinperä's ”Impressions” and Atsushi Takano's and Satoshi Ohtaki's ”Fibrillar scape”. Next summer, based on the prize-winning submissions, Cembrit will initiate a façade upgrade of its factory area in Muijala, Lohja.
The purpose of the competition was to offer top designers of the future an opportunity to show their skills and come up with fresh ideas for a façade upgrade of Cembrit's factory area. The competition attracted more than 20 high quality entries from architecture and design students at Finnish universities and schools of art and design. According to the competition assignment, the entries had to utilise Cembrit's own colourful UrbanNature façade boards. In the jury's assessment, the prize-winning entries stood out with their distinctiveness, open-mindedness and diversity.
"The jury was surprised by the number of competition entries and particularly by their high quality. Many submissions exhibited a fascinating and bold use of colours as well as interesting forms, innovativeness and even futuristic qualities," says Architect Matti Kuittinen of Kombi Arkkitehdit Oy, who was a member of the jury.
Also according to Cembrit's Sales Director Virpi Riekkinen, the competition objectives were excellently fulfilled. "From our young competitors, we received many bold and open-minded entries that made creative use of our UrbanNature boards. We can now upgrade our factory area façade both visually and technically to illustrate the quality of our products as well as the new dimensions offered by fibre cement boards. We believe that, based on the competition entries, we will be able to create a new, impressive landmark for Lohja: an artistic, innovative and daring European-style building. It will also change completely the factory visit experience of our partners when they come to see us: in addition to products and production technology, visitors will get the opportunity to see new ideas in the use of façade boards realised in a work of architecture," says Riekkinen.
Cembrit, a market leader in fibre cement façade and interior boards, has in recent years invested substantially in product development, focusing not only on the technical functionality of products but also on their durability and visuality. Company has, for example, launched onto the market the UrbanNature façade boards, which have been developed in cooperation with architects and designers. The four different collections of the product range present unprecedented opportunities to innovate, and to combine different surfaces and colours into individual, creative solutions.
Further information:
Virpi Riekkinen, Sales Director, Cembrit Oy
E-mail: virpi.riekkinen@cembrit.fi, telephone: +358 45 636 5254
JURY'S JUSTIFICATIONS:
Joint 1st place: "Kittilä"
Tapio Kangasaho, Tampere University of Technology, Department of Architecture
Architectonic beauty has been imparted to board construction through creative means. The vertically oriented sheets and their form variation create an interesting illusion of a three-dimensional surface. The shape is commendably evident from the factory's main direction of approach. The use of colours is controlled and fresh. Feasibility seems to be realistic, even though installation details, optimum size of boards and the maintenance of the structure require further study. Applying the same idea to the whole long façade slightly undermines its architectural impact. Overall, however, the submission is of high quality and it can be developed to apply both in the factory area and at other cladding construction projects.
Joint 1st place: "Flow"
Teemu Haapsaari, Aalto University, Department of Architecture, Architecture Degree Programme
The stylishness of the entry is based on curving forms and a sparsely timeless colour scale. The wavy façade creates a strongly distinctive new identity for the factory area. Particularly commendable is the entry and terrace area outlined for the main entrance. Similarly, the realisation of night lighting and the façade board recycling idea are good insights. The technical implementation of the submission requires further study and the realisation of the curving forms will require optimisation of board sizes to maintain their beauty all the way to final implementation. Flow, with an unusual form language, gives a distinguished picture of the potential uses of façade boards.
Honorary mention: ”Fibrillar scape”
Atsushi Takano, Aalto University, Department of Forest Product Technology, Master's Programme
Satoshi Ohtaki, Aalto University, Department of Architecture, Master's Programme
An entry bursting with fun and creative ideas – based on boards assembled into wall and interior elements. With its plant additions and small windmills, the proposal represents "greenwashing" of a factory area at its best. However, practical implementation and the combining of the structure naturally with the old factory present challenges. Even so, the fresh ideas and open-minded vision raised the submission into the prize-winning places.
Honorary mention: "Impressions"
Ilkka Palinperä, Aalto University, School of Art and Design, Master's Programme in Space Design
Lightly playful submission with boards of different shapes and widths. The submission, based on a simple technical implementation, effectively departs from the rectangular tradition of board construction. The colours and forms are well suited to each other and make the factory area look more cheerful and fresh. The innovativeness of board use falls short, however, of the graphic excellence of the submission. Impressions is a good, high quality example of the free composition of board shapes and colours and, as such, is highly applicable to the implementation of large cladding surfaces at other locations.
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Facade upgrade of factory area
