New CEO for LPR Architects

Heli Väliharju

Spring brings big changes in our personnel when our long-term CEO Veera Rautaheimo changes her position to the chairman of the board. LPR Architects partnerships remains unchanged with partner architects Veera Rautaheimo, Pauno Narjus, Jonni Lampinen and Aleksi Myyryläinen.

Our new CEO Heli Väliharju, who is Master of Science in Civil Engineering (Construction Economics) has a long work experience as a CEO and an entrepreneur in the construction industry. Last three years she has been working as a business consultant for the management of SMEs.

Veera Rautaheimo has high expectations for the future cooperation: ”With Heli’s leadership, our experienced team continues its work in renovation construction but also designing functionally, cityscape- and technically challenging sites. Together with Heli, we will increase our expertise even more.”

Construction business has always been close to Heli’s heart and now she gets back to project work that she has been missing. She is very enthusiastic about her new position at LPR: “It is a privilege to be involved in all those special projects where LPR Architects is at its best. The sustainable development of the built environment is even more important, so it is very meaningful to be involved in enhancing it.”

CEO changes take place 1.3.2023 and you can reach to Heli by email: heli.valiharju@ark-lpr.fi and by phone: +358 50 309 0682.

LPR Architects and Helin & Co Architects in the final of the EU Parliament architecture competition

The winner of the big international design competition of the EU Parliament has been selected. LPR Architects were selected in the finals with the proposal made with Helin & Co Architects and Sitowise Oy. We were the only Finnish group selected in the finals among 132 entries. Competition started already in year 2020 but the results came this year.

Danish JDS Architects won the competition. The proposal will not be executed. 

Competition was about renewal of the Paul-Henri Spaak building which is the main building of the European Parliament in Brussels. The building consists of the plenary session hall and the most important functions related to the reception of citizens, media and visitors. The aim of the competition was to design multifunctional and flexible building which is connected to the surrounding urban environment and nature with positive environmental effects.

In our proposal, democratic procedures are symbolized by the circular structures of the building. The halls located inside the shapes are outlined in the building’s other interior spaces as well as the exterior, emphasizing the transparency of the democratic procedures. The lobby illuminated by natural light creates the core of the building, tying the diverse functions around it into a clearly visible unity. The building’s ecological structures and materials, organic shapes, and human scale reflect the building’s sustainable values.

The jury praised the project as one of the most expressive amongst the entries. The homogenous approach, wooden structure and security concept was also appreciated.

LPR Architects in social media

LPR Architects social media channels has been launched this autumn and we are found on Instagram (@lpr_arkkitehdit), Facebook and Linkedin. Links to our channels are also found in the footer of this website. Please follow us and stay tuned about LPR projects and happenings!

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LPR Architects take third place in the Lahti Niemi lakefront architectural competition

Competition proposal Lahden Poukama placed third in the Lahti Niemi lakefront area development competition in 2022. Organised by Polttimo Oy, UPM-Kymmene Plc and the City of Lahti, the competition was held to come up with ideas for transforming a former industrial area into a unique and attractive residential area and green zone for the citizens of Lahti. The competition area is located on the Lake Vesijärvi lakefront, a few kilometres from the city centre and adjacent to excellent public transportation connections and the city’s walking and cycling network.

Held in March 2022, the competition received a total of 55 proposals. The jury described Lahden Poukama as follows: “LPR’s proposal makes use of lake views by opening quarters to the south-west, north-west and out to the lake, thus filling the quarters nicely with natural light. The proposal strikes a suitable balance between the industrial scale and compactness of the area and the more sparsely built areas surrounding it.

The large quarters and centralised parking facilities in the Lahden Poukama proposal allow for extensive, lush yard areas. In addition, sustainable development is evident in the building materials used, the area’s own energy production, and an environment that promotes circular economy and communality.

Read more on the Lahti Niemi area competition on the City of Lahti website (in Finnish)
Read more on the Lahden Poukama on the project website

Joint entry of LPR Architects and Helin & Co Architects in the Ferry Terminal Turku architectural competition

LPR Architects will be collaborating with Helin & Co Architects in the Ferry Terminal Turku architectural competition. Organised by the Port of Turku, five design teams were invited to participate. The invited teams were selected from nearly twenty candidates based on references. In addition to the LPR & Helin Co team, the following teams participated in the competition: PES-Architects (Finland), ALA Architects (Finland), JKMM Architects (Finland) and Zaha Hadid Architects (England).

The drafts for the first phase of the competition will be completed in February and the final proposals submitted later in the spring of 2022. The competition winner and designer of the passenger ferry terminal will be announced by the summer of 2022. The terminal is expected to be completed in early 2026.

https://www.portofturku.fi/en/2021/12/13/top-contenders-in-the-architect-competition/

LPR Architects’ new website published

Welcome to our new website! We have updated the entire content and appearance of our website in collaboration with the marketing agency Briiffi Oy. Our goal was to create a website which is easily browsable on all devices and which properly highlights the photos of our versatile design sites. We believe the final result was a success, thanks to Briiffi’s professionals as well as our own expert personnel.