New Activity and Service Center for Koli National Park

Invitational competition, 2nd place and subsequent commission

The subject of the competition was a new tourist centre for Koli National Park in North Carelia. Koli lies within UNESCO´s North Carelia Biosphere Area and is perhaps the best-known Finnish natural park south of Lapland. The key concept in the project is the promotion of sustainable tourism. The location of the buildings, as well as their massing are inspired by the contours in an area with height differences unusually dramatic for the southern parts of the country. The plan includes a hotel, various other types of accommodation, a caravan and camping area, and a sauna village. The subsequent commission consisted of the authors of the two best proposals coordinating the best parts of their projects into one coherent whole.

Project
details

Location

Koli, Lieksa, North Carelia

Client

City of Lieksa, Napa-Koli Ltd

Size

9 hectares with 26 100m2 of floor area

Time

2009-2010

Collaborators

Subsequent commission together with JKMM Architects

Responsible designer

Trevor Harris, Hennu Kjisik

Team

Marta de Abreu Hartman, Christopher Delany, Henna Kemppainen, Hannu Louna, Ilkka Törmä, Sofia de Vocht, Jukka Syvälahti (WSP Finland / traffic), Arto Kaituri (WSP Finland, landscape)