Image: Tengbom.

The new building is part of the Nordea Campus block in Vallila, Helsinki. Nordea has a total of seven buildings in the block, which together form a compact whole. It was decided to replace the old office building built in the 1970s, with a low energy building of 21,000 m2. 

The new building is architecturally and structurally demanding, and the location surrounded by other buildings has also made the project logistically challenging. The office building under construction has been designed to comply with the highest LEED Platinum environmental standard. 

The jury, which selected it as the Construction Site of the Year, paid attention to the following issues at the construction site: occupational safety, the technical and other complexity of the project and risk management, design control, utilization of the building information model and other digital control tools, schedule and cost management, quality assurance, development and innovations on site, consideration of environmental issues, and smooth cooperation with the client and various parties. This year, there was a special focus on quality assurance.

"Good management was emphasized at NCC's construction site, which was also a prerequisite for good quality management as well as cleanliness and safety," says Maria-Elena Ehrnrooth, chair of the jury and CEO of Rakennusmestarit ja -insinöörit AMK ry.

"We have worked closely with the customer, Pembroke, from the very beginning of the project. The fact that the client knows exactly what they want has also helped us at the construction site to develop our own operations. We have invested especially in quality and paid more attention than usual to contracts with subcontractors so that the same quality level and goals are clear for everyone working on the site," says Project Manager Jaakko Hakala from NCC Building Nordics. 

"The people at this construction site are a great example of a team that is constantly developing its working methods. The team, which has worked together for a long time, has developed into a close-knit community whose insights and ideas are also utilized at other NCC construction sites, says Kati Tauriainen, NCC's Country Manager in Finland.

“We at Pembroke are delighted that the NCC site team has been recognized for the high standards and professionalism it has displayed throughout on this project. NCC rose to the challenges that were set and proved themselves to be open to new ideas and “do better”. As a result, the building equals or exceeds our initial expectations”, says Dan Perkins, Senior Director, Development, Pembroke.

The last time NCC in Finland won the Construction Site of the Year award was in 2014 when the National Library of Finland was refurbished. Rakennuslehti has chosen the Construction Site of the Year since 1986.

Project Boost C5

  • Owner: Aleksis Finland Oy (represented by Pembroke Real Estate)
  • User: Nordea
  • Project management contractor: NCC
  • Site supervision: Ramboll CM
  • Main design: Tengbom 
  • Structural engineering: Sweco
  • HVAC design: Granlund
  • Geotechnical design: Sipti
  • Traffic planning: WSP Finland 
  • Site schedule: 2021 – 2024
  • Area of demolished old building: 14,156 br-m2
  • New building (+ basement) area: 20 934 br-m2 
  • Site characteristics: high quality requirements (especially façade and suspended ceilings), a lot of risks that have been controlled, a good level of occupational safety, an open communication culture

More information:

Jaakko Hakala, projektinjohtaja, NCC Building Nordics, jaakko.hakala@ncc.fi, 050 367 3251
Merja Alastalo, viestintäjohtaja, NCC Communication, merja.alastalo@ncc.fi, 050 316 5887