Collage: June & July
Collage is a compilation of Olla’s latest news. This summer edition highlights Haiku, a sustainably refurbished office building now competing among the world’s most exciting retrofit projects at WAF, a new data centre continuing the story of a historic industrial site in Kouvola, and Finland’s first recycling shopping centre in Kuopio.
Sustainably refurbished Haiku to the World Architecture Festival finals
The World Architecture Festival (WAF), one of the largest architecture events in the world, will be held in Miami this November. Bringing together the international architecture community each year, the festival showcases and awards significant architectural achievements across 18 categories.
Haiku, a 1970s office building saved from demolition, will compete in the Retrofit category, which highlights the world’s most notable renovation projects. Located in Helsinki’s Kallio district, the building had over time lost its connection to its surroundings. In an ambitious renovation project with strong sustainability goals, Haiku was given a new identity by making extensive use of the building’s original character and existing materials. The result is an innovative and architecturally striking whole where old and new blend in fascinating ways.
Read more about Haiku’s spot in the WAF finals here.
Olla designs a major data centre on a historic industrial site in Kouvola
Myllykoski in Kouvola was once home to UPM’s paper mill, which closed in 2011. Now, a new chapter begins for this historic industrial site with the construction of an atNorth data centre designed by Olla. The project received its building permit in June.
The new data centre will be built on land that was once an open yard for storing timber during the paper mill era. Across the river, atNorth’s first data centre in the area is already under construction. Olla is also serving as principal and architectural designer for this project.
The new data centre’s main building and technical yards form a symmetrical whole, wrapped in a corten-steel shell. The reddish steel links the new buildings to the red-brick facades of the former paper mill. Together, the sites create an industrial hub along the Kymi River that respects both nature values and local history.
A completely new ecosystem for used goods – Olla designs Finland’s first recycling shopping centre in Kuopio
Matkus is a shopping centre in Kuopio, originally designed by Olla. Now, Olla is planning a first-of-its-kind recycling complex next to Matkus, combining the reuse of second-hand goods with material sorting. The development consists of a 6,000 m² shopping centre and an equally large, modern sorting facility.
The shopping centre will repair, refine, and sell used items. At the sorting facility, materials suitable for reuse — previously only recoverable as energy — will be sorted and returned to circulation. The facility will also bring sorting closer to consumers. The recycling shopping centre will be operated by Elävä Säätiö, while the sorting facility will be run by Jätekukko. Ingka Centres Kuopio will construct the complex and act as the landlord for its operators.
Recycling also plays a major role in the architecture. Learn more here about the project and the ways Olla’s multidisciplinary team is exploring new possibilities for reusing products and building components.
The founder of Olla Architecture Olli Parviainen 1933–2025
The founder of Olla, respected architect and beloved leader Olli Parviainen passed away on June 20, 2025. Known for his warmth and positivity as a designer, CEO, father, and friend, Olli departed during the same bright midsummer moment in which he had arrived: he was born and died on Midsummer Night.
Olli was a builder of good, whose hard work, expertise and optimism laid the foundation for everything Olla is today. Read more here about Olli’s remarkable life.
