Hiukkavaara supplementary school
High-quality and flexible teaching facilites are under construction
The popularity of Hiukkavaara in Oulu as a residential area for families with children continues, and it is reflected in the increase in the number of students. An additional school is now being built next door to the school located in the multipurpose building. Hoivatilat develops the supplementary school for the City of Oulu using the lease model.
Hiukkavaara supplementary school
Client City of Oulu
Tyyppi School
Location Oulu
Number of children 350
Completion time November 2024
Hiukkavaara suburb in Oulu is especially popular with families, and the number of children will continue to grow rapidly in the future. The primary school in the developing residential area operates in connection with the multi-purpose building. Now, an additional school is being built next door that will meet the need, which will be put into operation in January 2025. In the new premises, school will be attended by 1st-6th graders, a total of 350 students.
Hoivatilat implements an approximately 4,400 m2 school building for the city of Oulu using a lease model. The duration of the agreement is 25 years and the value is around 25 million euros. Outside of school activities, the premises will be used for hobby activities.
A flexible learning environment supports teaching
The Hiukkavaara school, which started operating in 2017, has teaching plan that is not tied to year classes. Each child has their own personal curriculum and students are grouped flexibly. Teaching takes place in learning nests, where several groups and students of different ages study at the same time.
Learning together is the main idea of studying. Pupil groups include pupils with general, enhanced and special support. Nests have a multi-professional team, consisting of class teachers, special education teachers and school guidance counselors. The teaching staff works as a team, dividing the work among themselves according to their skills and the students’ needs.
Teaching that takes place in nests, not tied to year classes, has been taken into account in the space planning. Hoivatilat project manager Elina Suikki says that during the development phase, the nest areas were arranged listening to the customer and the user so that each nest has an even clearer common center of the learning spaces in the middle of the teaching spaces, a learning hall that can be used as a learning space. In addition, the transparency and adaptability of the premises were developed according to the customer’s wishes.
– Combined teaching facilities serve co-teaching and provide opportunities for different teaching situations, Suikki mentions.
In the development stage of the premises, the yard was developed towards more efficient space usage, the spaces for art and skill subjects were adapted to the needs with experts in the teaching subjects, and other areas of development were responded to. With the help of schools daily work experts, the food distribution was also made smoother with small changes. Further development progressed smoothly, with an open dialogue with the customer and the user.
The Hiukkavaara school’s values of creativity, commitment, community spirit and flexibility are also reflected in the additional school’s space planning and high-quality implementation. The commitment of the parties is indicated by the long-term lease agreement with maintenance and cleaning services.
Elias Rautio, construction engineer of Oulu’s Tilapalvelut, says that the project has progressed smoothly and the schedule has been met.
Cooperation with Hoivatilat works well. They know our operating methods and requirements, what we seek and want in projects.
In Rautio’s opinion, Hoivatilat is an easy and comfortable partner from the customer’s and tenant’s point of view.
Co-operation between all parties has been frictionless. It has made it possible for the group to effectively work for the benefit of the Hiukkavaara supplementary school project.
Hoivatilat has also noticed that the city of Oulu has good credit for Hoivatilat as a partner due to the jointly implemented projects.
– We know how they want things to go, we understand the quality requirements and the fact that their experts are consulted and that the budget and schedule must be kept, says Elina Suikki. – When working with Hoivatilat, the customer can trust that the project will be implemented properly and with high quality.
ARCO Oy is responsible for the architectural design of the school, with Teemu Leppänen as the main designer. The main contractor is Temotek Oy. Both companies are long-term partners of Hoivatilat.