Finlandia Prize for Architecture for the New Children’s Hospital

The hospital was designed from child's point of view.

"It is wonderful that a patient and family centred design process has also succeeded in delivering an architecturally ambitious result worthy of this incredible honour,” said professor of Aalto University, architect Antti-Matti Siikala, who chaired the working group designing the hospital. 

"The significance of the project was most important. The builders made all the solutions from the point of view of the child and the hospital", tells Siikala.

The Finlandia Prize for Architecture 2018 winner was chosen by forensic orthodontist Helena Ranta. Prize highlights cultural capital inherent in architecture.

“Painted on the wall of the hospital’s entrance foyer are the words ‘Working together, for the safety and comfort of every child’ in Finland’s two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. This is a motto that I believe we can all live by. The children now have a hospital, where every single detail has been carefully and thoughtfully considered with their health and wellbeing in mind,” Ranta explained.

Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District’s New Children’s Hospital was designed by SARC Architects and Architect Group Reino Koivula, comprising Antti-Matti Siikala, Sarlotta Narjus, Sakari Forsman and Susanna Kalkkinen.

“The New Children’s Hospital has been an exceptional project in many ways, but what truly makes it stand out is how immersed the design team has been in every aspect of the process, from considering the building’s impact on the wider urban environment to focusing on getting even the smallest interior details just right. We created our own fictional narrative to shed light on the actual experience that patients and visitors would have at the hospital. It was intended to support and inform our design work and ensure that we were well equipped to do our best across the wide variety of different interiors,” Siikala says, describing the design process.

The Finlandia Prize for Architecture is the Finnish SAFA Architectural Prize, which was awarded for the first time in 2014. The prize is not linked to the monetary portion. The shortlist for the fifth Finlandia Prize for Architecture featured the Amos Rex art museum, Lallukka Artists’ Residence, the New Children’s Hospital, Helsinki University’s Think Corner and Tuupala Timber School.

The New Children’s Hospital opened on 17 September