Art by Ilona Partanen adorns the site fence of Tuultenristi in Tapiola

After the completion of the site, the wind-themed work will become part of the Espoo Museum of Modern Art collection, andsome of it will be hung in the entrance halls of the residential buildings.

The site fence of construction site Tuultenristi in central Tapiola is surrounded by illustrator Ilona Partanen’s artwork that depicts different winds.

The site fence art project is a collaborative project between YIT and EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. The aim is to use visual art to brighten the day and to bring art to the newly constructed area and its residents. 

The Tuultenristi project near the Tapiola metro station and bus terminal consists of two 12-storey and one nine-storey residential buildings, one five-storey office building as well as a parking facility for the residential buildings. The names of the residential buildings in Tuultenristi are Länsituuli, Etelätuuli and Itätuuli. The construction of the first residential project for Tuultenristi, Asunto Oy Espoon Itätuuli, started this spring.
The apartments in the architecturally stunning buildings are fitted with high-quality materials. The apartments have tall windows, sliding glass doors to glazed balconies as well as underfloor heating and cooling.

In total, the new buildings will invite more than 400 new residents to the centre of Tapiola.
“The Tuultenristi block is centrally located in Tapiola, and the construction site will be there for a long time, so we wanted to have something interesting and pleasant on the site fences to delight residents and passers-by,” says Esa Turkka, Vice President at YIT.

In addition to the new residential block, a total of 4,200 m² of office and service space will be completed in Tuultenristi. Tuultenristi´s office and service premises follow the same idiom as the apartments, offering high-quality, bright and attractive spaces for companies located in the area. The premises offer wide and cosy views to Merituulentori and over Tuuliniitty to Hakalehto. Tuultenristi office and service building will be completed in the second phase of construction in 2023.

The starting point of Ilona Partanen’s work was to find a unique character for each wind and emphasise it by visual means. The work of art combines winds and vortexes with different folk tales and animal figures, as well as everyday objects, such as hats, flags and boats. The nearness of the sea has affected the visual art. The artwork is printed on aluminium and acrylic plates that are attached to the painted site fence.

Ilona Partanen works mainly as an illustrator and graphic designer, but she is also familiar with creating art for public spaces. Her works are characterised by a bold use of colour, painterly qualities and organic shapes. Examples of her public works can be seen, for instance, at the Myyrmäki station, where she collaborated with the Multicoloured Dreams collective. She is also a member of Grafia’s G-REX street art club.

The elements of Partanen’s work will be included in the collection of EMMA, and they can be displayed in public spaces in Espoo later on. The work is replicable by nature, which means that new versions can be made of its elements, if required. 

EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art is located in Tapiola, Espoo, at the WeeGee Exhibition Centre. In addition to museum exhibitions, EMMA’s art can be found around the city of Espoo. A notable partof the works in the EMMA collection are permanently accessible to all residents in the Espoo cityscape, as outdoor monuments or in schools, hospitals, daycare centres, assisted living facilities and indoor swimming pools. EMMA also carries out more extensive public art projects in the city.

Read more:
Tapiola’s Tuultenristi invites more than 400 new residents to the centre of Tapiola

For further information, please contact:
Esa Turkka, Vice President, Housing Finland and CEE segment, YIT Finland Ltd, tel. +358 40 551 5945, esa.turkka@yit.fi 
Johanna Savolainen, Communications Manager, YIT Corporation, tel. +358 44 305 4594, johanna.savolainen@yit.fi 

YIT is the largest Finnish and a significant North European urban developer and construction company. We create more sustainable, functional and attractive cities and living environments. We develop and build apartments, business premises and entire areas. We also specialise in demanding infrastructure construction. We own properties with our partners, which supports the implementation of our significant development projects. We also provide our customers with services that increase the value of properties. We employ about 7,400 professionals in 10 countries: Finland, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. In 2020, our revenue amounted to approximately EUR 3.1 billion. YIT Corporation's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy.