Hoivarakentajat and Honkarakenne develop service model for the construction of log schools

Hoivarakentajat and Honkarakenne develop service model for the construction of log school

PRESS RELEASE 20 November 2019

Mediset Hoivarakentajat and Honkarakenne have concluded a letter of intent for the implementation of adaptable log-structured learning environments with a service model that allows the users of the facilities to realise a culture of change in the physical school premises, alongside their renewal.

Finnish construction companies Mediset Hoivarakentajat Oy and Honkarakenne Oyj have mutually developed the Oppikylä (Learning Village) service concept and have concluded a letter of intent for the implementation of flexible conversion and sensory-friendly school and learning space solutions. This also involves a wide-ranging network of pedagogy and learning environments-related professionals.

‘Our goal is to increase the number of high-quality school and learning environments over the next five years, with a rate of three buildings annually,’ says Tarmo Kemppainen, Managing Director of Mediset Hoivarakentajat Oy.

The objective is possible because, according to a study commissioned by Hoivarakentajat, there is a need for new learning environments and healthy schools and educational facilities in the municipalities of Finland. Approximately half of the municipal policymakers surveyed estimate that the municipality is procuring new school or teaching facilities over the next three years. According to the report, the next up-and-coming pedagogical perspective is being emphasised in teaching facility procurement.

Oppikylä (Learning Village), Illustrative drawing

‘The demand for healthy and low-carbon timber construction is rising. Together with Mediset Hoivarakentajat, we’ve already brought at least a dozen timber daycare centres into being. We’re enthusiastically involved in building high-quality, environmentally sustainable log schools, where it’s good for young people to grow and evolve,’ says Project Manager Markus Saarelainen from Honkarakenne Oyj.

‘The challenges of school spaces, such as indoor air problems, pain points in open learning environments, and shrinking municipal economies have all emerged in recent years. We believe that it is possible to tackle these problems together. With good construction, sustainable and sensory-friendly materials as well as a change in the operational culture, it is possible to build facilities that foster healthy, safe and rejuvenating modes of learning in all the municipalities of Finland – not just In the prosperous capital region of Helsinki,’ Tarmo Kemppainen declares.

The collaboratively developed service product, Oppikylä, is an adaptable, multi-functional building where the use of the facilities is considered from the perspective of flexibility over the entire life-cycle.

‘The municipality obtains a multi-purpose living room that supports the sense of the entire village of the entire village when the space is converted from a school into a senior centre, or into an activity facility for all ages. We are utilising the strong experience behind public service building and early childhood education, and are also bringing what has been learnt into the school world,’ Tarmo Kemppainen states.

Finland’s largest log-made day care centre Pilke day care centre Siru was opened in Espoo in August 2019. The daycare was constructed by Honkarakenne and Mediset Hoivarakentajat.

More information:

Images available at

Markus Saarelainen, Honkarakenne Oyj

Tel.  +358 (0)40 5966007,

Tarmo Kemppainen, Managing Director, Mediset Hoivarakentajat Oy

Tel.  +358 (0)44 5569935,

More information about the Oppikylä service concept:

Jouni Salmi, Business Development Director, Mediset Hoivarakentajat Oy,

Tel. +358 (0)40 5235111,

Honkarakenne Oyj manufactures high-quality, healthy and ecological detached houses, holiday homes and public buildings made from Finnish solid wood under the Honka® brand. The company has delivered 85,000 buildings to over 50 countries. The house packages are manufactured in Finland and the company’s own factory is located in Karstula. In 2018, Honkarakenne Group’s revenue was EUR 48.9 million, of which exports accounted for 37%.

Mediset Hoivarakentajat Oy is specialised in professional overall responsibility for sensory-friendly timber-built daycare centres and learning environments, as well as care homes and residential services designed for special groups in Finland. The results of the high-quality work of Hoivarakentajat are already being enjoyed in almost a hundred healthy indoor and early childhood education facilities throughout Finland.

Oppikylä is a healthy, safe and cost-effective school solution for adaptable space requirements. The sensory-friendly, built-in learning environment serves not only the school but also acts as an activity and event facility with a high utilisation rate. The pedagogical change training in the service model helps students and teachers alike to renew their operational cultures at the same time as this new innovative operational environment. The Learning Village service is provided by Mediset Hoivarakentajat Oy as the main partner of the world's leading manufacturer of timber-framed houses, Honkarakenne Oyj. This also involves a wide-ranging network of pedagogy and learning environments-related professionals.