Sitra selected the Low2No competition participants

The sustainable development design competition in Jätkäsaari gathered 73 international teams

Phase one of the Low2No competition, Request for Qualifications, has been completed, and the teams have been selected. The organisers were surprised at the large, and global, interest in the competition generated. Despite the short application time frame, a total of 73 applications were submitted. Five teams were selected from a very competitive pool of proposals to proceed to the design phase of the competition. These teams were judged to have the best mix of experience, knowledge of the field, and capacity to innovate. The design proposals generated by the selected teams will be evaluated by an international jury.

The Low2No Request for Qualifications (RFQ) received a large number of applications. The applications were of a very high quality, and originated from a large geographic spread. The RFQ review committee was particularly impressed by the type and quality of the network of teams presenting themselves. The competition aims at finding the team best positioned to develop a low/no carbon footprint, energy efficient, and sustainable solution that has high social, economic, and architectural value.

– While it was very difficult not to be able to select many teams of great promise, the committee was unanimous in its selection of the top five. While driven by different approaches, competencies, and mixes of experience, the five teams selected shared a common trait in their ability to think innovatively at the highest level, says Marco Steinberg, Director of Strategic Design at Sitra.

The five teams selected are (in alphabetical order):

• ARUP (London, UK) – Sauerbruch Hutton – Experientia – Galley Eco Capital 
• Bjarke Ingels Group, BIG (Copenhagen, Denmark) – Vahanen – Transsolar – Anttinen Oiva Arkkitehdit AoA – Masu Planning – Passiivitalo.fi – Pasi Mäenpää – Mikko Jalas 
• Peter Rose & Partners (Boston, USA) – Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates – Guy Nordenson and Associates – Matthias Schuler, Transsolar Climate Engineering – Mobility in Chain – ARO Architectural Research Office 
• REX Architecture (New York, USA) – Transsolar Energietechnik – Magnusson Klemencic Associates – Bureau Bas Smets 
• WSP Group (London, UK) – Heatherwick Studios – B&M Architects – JK MM Architects – Space Syntax – Helsinki University – AA Palmberg Ltd – Pekka Himanen – Pauli Aalto-Setälä

With the competition, Sitra’s Energy Programme wants to encourage the building, real estate and energy sector to redeem the leading position in low/no carbon and energy efficient building.

– The goals of our Energy Programme are ambitious. We are seeking a quantum leap in the built environment towards energy efficiency and a low carbon footprint, says Juha Kostiainen, Business Director of Sitra’s Energy Programme. 

– Our goal with the Low2No competition is to engage the world’s best experts in developing new solutions. The vast amount of teams submitted and, above all, their high quality shows us that that we are in an excellent position to achieve the goals set for the competition, Kostiainen continues.

The Low2No competition will quickly move to the next phase. The competition programme will be available in mid-May. The selected five teams will gather in Helsinki on 1–3 June to gain further exposure to the Finnish and Helsinki context. The competition proposals are due on 1 July, after which the evaluation process will begin. The competition entries will be judged by a jury of 11 members. The jury will be made up of local and international experts from a broad range of subject matters.

Further information

Background information in graphs »

Marco Steinberg, Director of Strategic Design
Tel. (09) 6189 9233
firstname.lastname@sitra.fi

Juha Kostiainen, Business Director, Energy programme
Tel. (09) 6189 9473
firstname.lastname@sitra.fi

www.sitra.fi/energy»
www.low2no.org/competition»

JURY members

• Prof Michelle Addington, Associate Professor, Yale University
• Mr Harry Edelman, CEO, Edelman Group
• Prof Harrison S. Fraker, Professor, Berkeley University
• Mr Matti Kaijansinkko, Jätkäsaari Project Leader, City Planning Department, City of Helsinki
• Mr Timo Kokkila, Property Development Manager, SRV Yhtiöt Oyj
• Mr Juha Kostiainen, Business Director, Sitra/Energy Programme
• Prof Ralf Lindberg, Professor, Tampere University of Technology
• Mr Kimmo Lylykangas, Research Manager/Architect, Helsinki University of Technology
• Mr Marco Steinberg, Director of Strategic Design, Sitra, Chairman of the Jury
• Ms Helena Säteri, Director General, Ministry of the Environment of Finland
• Prof Christian Werthmann, Associate Professor, Harvard University

Sitra’s Energy Programme contributes to improving the energy-efficiency of the built environment and the energy awareness of Finns, in addition to creating new business opportunities from the transition that the energy sector is undergoing. The programme will seek innovative operating models and technologies to attain improved energy efficiency and invests in companies within the sector to accelerate their growth and internationalisation.

The Low2No competition seeks comprehensive solutions to low/no carbon and energy efficient building solutions. The sustainable development design competition aims at showing that the national and international targets for lowering CO2 emissions and improving energy efficiency can be reached and even outperformed, while producing an economically sustainable and high architectural environment. The competition hopes that it can also help contribute to the cooperation between Finnish and international experts in different fields. The competition also encourages cities and communities to set more ambitious targets in developing new areas and to adopt new business models in planning. More information can be found on the competition website: www.low2no.org »