Management

 

Sodankyla municipality made the initial project application, but later the role of Lead Partner was transferred to The Regional Council of Northern Lapland. This arrangement presented possibilities to work within a larger region and with a wider range of contacts. The Regional Council of Northern Lapland took care of the project administration, the reporting and financial matters. The Steering Group consisted of Finnish members and the project partners were from different countries in the Northern Periphery region. The Steering Group members had good knowledge of a wide range of different issues, from forestry to timber production and product marketing. The members of the Steering Group also had a wide range of contacts, which was particularly beneficial.

 

An international Core Group was established with members of each country: Sandy Halliday and Howard Liddell from Scotland, John Kristofferssen from Norway and Kimmo Kuismanen from Finland.

 

Partner Name Main Tasks

• The Regional Council of Northern LapIand:- Project administration, Financing, Project Secretariat.

• Kimmo Kuismanen:- Architecture Design, Research.

• Rekonen Limited:- Timber Construction, Product Prefabrication.

• John Kristofferssen:- Architecture, Design.

• Gaia Architects:- Design

• Gaia Research:- Research Co-ordination.

• Findhorn Foundation/North Woods:- Research, Forestry.

Each national team developed projects within their own country, using local expertise and transferring information. Desk studies, site visits, a portfolio of overall project ideas and the selection of case studies for design development was carried out through the co-operative efforts of the partnership. Team meetings were important in the process. The international workshops were essential for the project implementation and they gave a good base for further communication. Email was a very important way of communicating on a day-to-day basis and also for transferring documents.

 

The project partners were highly qualified in different disciplines. One missing link - structural engineering - was bought as a consultancy service. It was very important that everyone worked interactively. A significant amount of work took place in the design and building of prototypes. Organisations that undertook the prototype building were also very innovative and made a valuable contribution to the work.

 

Consultants and Experts

 

Contact information Task

 

Arkins suunnittelu Oy Reports on technical details and Kalle Hautajarvi calculations Kalle.hautajarvi@arkins.fi
Buro Happold Reports on technical details and James Rowe / Ruth Haynes calculations James.rowe@burohappold.com & Ruth.Haynes@burohappold.com

Kimmo Johansson, Elcad Ltd CAD 3D pictures

Hannu Honkanen Report / plan for production line

Jukka Kosonen, Reko Set manufacturing, Report on the frame structures

 

Consultants were brought in for specific tasks. The calculations and safety regulations needed engineering work, which the partners could not provide. Also the details, like foundations and joints required expert technical knowledge. The consultants were selected on the basis that they should be capable of providing innovative and creative solutions. The consultants produced a great deal of information, which was essential for project planning and implementation. Some of the problems, like the safety regulations of play equipment and jointing instructions, were very complicated and required a high degree of expertise. CAD 3D was thought to be an excellent way to publish designs, it gives aesthetically realistic idea of products. The report of the production line was also very useful, because it gave good information of possible and potential investments in relation to results.

 

The project ran from 1.1.1999 to 30.9.2000. The first meeting took place in Bath, England in March 1999. The location was determined by the desire to investigate the Hooke Park development which represents an important precedent for roundpole designs and a source of inspiration in its application as a serious construction resource.

 

The research team identified that aspects of the detailing and treatment were not particularly ecological and it was felt that a three way approach to roundpole construction be advocated which would (a) prioritise selection of good quality material which did not require treating; (b) secondly emphasise the need for appropriate detailing to prevent timber getting near moisture and (c) identify benign treatment processes.

 

Differences in structural requirements (snow loadings and ground frost) between the Hooke Park Site and those of the Northern periphery highlighted the need for relevant structural experience. As a consequence a review of the meeting a review of the appropriateness of round pole use to the Scottish environment was initiated - Use and Impact Report. This report was developed into a more detailed market research project to identify and enhance the network of interest in Round pole use in Scotland - Usage of Roundpole in Scotland A Review of Current Activity