”Vihreä Kaupunki” (Green City) documentary on ecological construction

"Vihreä kaupunki" was a two-part television documentary concerning the challenges, current status and opportunities of ecological construction in Europe. The documentary introduced the most interesting eco-houses and their visionary designers, and sought a sustainable direction for future construction.

Climate change awareness has increased substantially in recent years, and people look for more ecological alternatives. What is this in practice? Ecological housing and construction can be looked at from many perspectives. This documentary introduced some approaches to the topic.

The documentary was produced through international cooperation by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) and the German/French ARTE. The acclaimed science journalist of YLE, Pasi Toiviainen, was the scriptwriter/director of the two-part documentary. The document addressed ecological construction in Finland and elsewhere in the world. The documentary discussed various issues in ecological construction: materials, design ideas and aesthetics.

The first part of the documentary Täydellinen ekotalo (The Perfect Eco-house) investigated whether the best eco-house can be built by means of technology or through natural construction, and whether wood is the future of ecological apartment building construction. The second part, Arkkitehtuurin voima (The Power of Architecture) considered whether new, green architecture could still save the world.

The first part of the documentary was broadcast on YLE TV1 on Monday, 8 November 2010 at 7 p.m. and the second part on Monday, 15 November 2010 at 7 p.m. The duration of each episode was 44 minutes.