YIT’s renovation of the Main Building of the University of Helsinki is the Construction Site of the Year 2020

YIT’s renovation of the Main Building of the University of Helsinki has won the Construction Site of the Year 2020 award.

The first phase of the renovation project, which is currently under way, includes the the section facing Senate Square, which was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel, and two-storey sections designed by J.S. Sirén along Yliopistonkatu and Aleksanterinkatu.

The Main Building of the University of Helsinki is protected as a historically significant building.

The renovation is aimed at bringing the facilities up to date to meet today’s technical and functional requirements. The technical building systems will be upgraded, accessibility will be improved and the teaching facilities will be modernised. The renovation work will be carried out in a manner that respects the building’s history. The building will retain its original appearance down to the smallest detail.

In the alliance, the University of Helsinki Funds is the project client, YIT is the contractor and Jeskanen-Repo-Teränne Arkkitehdit Oy is responsible for the project’s architectural design.

In this year’s Construction Site of the Year competition, the key selection criteria were the difficulty of the project, site management and occupational safety, design management methods and making use of the expertise of specialised contractors and employees in the development of production plans.

“The renovation of historically valuable buildings is one of YIT’s areas of special expertise, and we are delighted to have received the Construction Site of the Year 2020 award. The credit for this recognition belongs to our project management and construction professionals,” says Kalevi Stenman, Vice President, Business Premises Renovation at YIT.

The first phase of the Main Building renovation began in May 2019 and it will be completed in the summer 2021.

The Construction Site of the Year competition has been organised by construction industry periodical Rakennuslehti since 1986. The members of this year’s jury were Maria-Elena Ehrnrooth from the Finnish Construction Managers and Engineers RKL, Matti Kruus from Indepro, Juhani Karhu from A-Insinöörit, Jukka Hietavirta from the Regional State Administrative Agency, Juha-Matti Junnonen from Tampere University and the journalists Vesa Tompuri and Seppo Mölsä. 

For further information, please contact:

Kalevi Stenman, Vice President, Business Premises Renovation, Helsinki metropolitan area, YIT Finland Ltd, tel. +358 (0)40 723 8393, kalevi.stenman@yit.fi
Heidi Kauppinen, Communications Manager, YIT Corporation, tel. +358 (0)40 574 3170, heidi.kauppinen@yit.fi

YIT is the largest Finnish and a significant North European construction company and urban developer. We develop and build apartments and living services, business premises and entire areas. We are also specialised in demanding infrastructure construction. Together with our customers, our nearly 8,000 professionals are creating more functional, attractive and sustainable cities and living environments. We operate in 10 countries: Finland, Russia, Sweden, Norway, the Baltic countries, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. In 2019, our revenue was approximately EUR 3.4 billion. YIT Corporation's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. www.yitgroup.com