Special investment fund eQ Hoivakiinteistöt (eQ) owns the Open Innovation House property on Maarintie in Espoo. It is currently being used for purposes such as provisional Espoo school premises and Aalto University teaching facilities. SRV will implement an extension of around 8,600 square metres of floor area to the property. The extension will house facilities for the new Espoo Courthouse. Preparatory work on the site commenced in October 2020 and actual construction will begin in January 2021. The project will be completed in summer 2022.

“Otaniemi as a whole has seen vigorous development in recent years. The traditional university campus is being transformed into a diverse district with educational facilities, housing, offices and retail premises. We seek to cater to the needs of the evolving Otaniemi area and enrich its variety of functions,” says Kimmo Alaharju, Real Estate Director at eQ.

The project emphasises maintenance-free premises that are adaptable and long-lasting. The users of office premises in particular need to be able to modify them in line with their needs. The new premises will be built in such a way that they enable the introduction of new working methods required due to digitalisation. The property will utilise geothermal energy for heating and cooling as well as solar energy. It will be carbon neutral during use.

“It’s wonderful to be involved in renewing the growing Otaniemi area, which has evolved from a student campus into a diverse district. In smooth cooperation with eQ, we have carried out projects such as a second primary school and a daycare centre in Lauttasaari in 2019 under a similar contract model,” says Unit Director Antti Raunemaa, who is responsible for the project at SRV.

SRV has participated in the construction of the strongly developing Otaniemi area earlier, too. The new Väre building for the Aalto University School of Art, Design and Architecture and School of Business as well as the A Bloc shopping centre on the Aalto University campus were completed in 2018.