Olla is designing Finland’s first recycling shopping centre in Kuopio
Next to the Matkus shopping centre, a new ecosystem for used goods is being built. It combines a recycling-based shopping centre with a modern sorting facility close to consumers. Bold rethinking of materials also guides the architecture.
Matkus is a shopping centre located in Kuopio, originally designed by Olla. Now, Olla is designing next to Matkus a groundbreaking recycling shopping centre, which combines the reuse of recycled goods with material sorting. The development consists of a shopping centre of approximately 6,000 m² and an equally large sorting facility.
In the shopping centre, used goods will be repaired, refined, and sold. At the sorting facility, reusable materials, previously only recoverable for energy, will be sorted and returned to circulation. The facility also brings sorting closer to consumers than before. 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.
Olla is responsible for the principal, architectural, and landscape design of the project, as well as the interior concept in collaboration with the user. Recycling is at the heart of the design, and Olla’s multidisciplinary team has been able to explore the reuse of products and building components in new ways. One current idea is to place an emergency staircase inside a repurposed shipping container, turning it into a visually interesting feature on the facade. The facades will also feature art surfaces made from recycled materials, while old car tyres will be transformed into planting containers in the outdoor areas. Recycled elements will also add character and coverage to the site’s fencing.
From a technical standpoint, a key decision was to install recycled ventilation units. The final design choices will depend on what recycled materials are available. When suitable reused products cannot be sourced, ecological and local alternatives will be prioritized, along with solutions that use fewer materials, allow easy disassembly, and enable future reuse.
– It feels right to be part of a pioneering project that considers sustainability on so many levels. One of the guiding frameworks of the project is a tight schedule, which poses particular challenges in terms of the availability of recycled materials. So far, however, it has been stimulating to be able to truly explore recycling solutions with full permission! Sustainability has also been extended to the adaptable space concept, where the movement of large goods flows is central, without forgetting comfortable and versatile customer areas, says Helmi Mälkönen, principal designer of the implementation phase.
The facility is scheduled to open in late summer 2026.
