Romanian entry wins architectural ideas competition for Santa Claus

logistics centre

The entry “Nothing is impossible”, submitted by Alexandru Oprita and Laurentiu Constantin
of Romania, has been chosen as winner of the Unbelievable Challenge architectural ideas
competition. One person from the winning pair will receive a ten-week fully-paid internship
at the internationally acclaimed architect and design company Snøhetta in Oslo, Norway.

Launched for young architects and designers in spring 2014, the Unbelievable Challenge
culminated in Helsinki on Friday 12 December with the announcement of the winner. In addition to
the winning entry, five other deserving works also received prizes.

This is how the jury described the winning entry: “The strongest element in the design is
responding to the challenge of ideas. The idea can be used in various situations. The strength of
this proposal is being able to exhibit an idea of surprise and magical character within the building
itself. The magic happens at night-time on the building’s façade and there’s a link to the investor –
Mr Santa Claus. It is feasible and innovative but not futuristic. It is also well thought through - from
land use all the way to detailing. (See More information annex for full evaluation)

“The jury was genuinely surprised at both the sheer number of entries and the amount and quality
of thinking that the entrants had obviously invested in the competition. Almost all entries presented
an idea that would have been feasible under some circumstances. Some of the ideas were able to
identify possibilities for improving the building type in general. The best proposals were also
carefully thought through on all levels, starting from sustainable land use to detailed technical
solutions,” says jury member architect Petteri Lautso from Ruukki.

When evaluating the competition entries, the jury emphasised the big idea and overall picture.
Other criteria included energy efficiency, sustainability, and suitability to the given surroundings.
These criteria were important not only because of the northern climatic conditions in Santa Claus’s
homeland, but also from the viewpoint of Ruukki’s products. The entries had to be designed for a
site in the Perävainio district of Oulu.

The competition attracted 243 entries from which the jury selected six finalists, one of which was
awarded the main prize and four others each received a prize of €1000. One of the finalists
received an honorary mention. Organised by Ruukki Construction, the City of Oulu, Helsinki
Design Week and Snøhetta, the Unbelievable Challenge was an open architectural design
competition for young architects and designers to find innovative ideas and solutions for the
logistics centre for a world-famous businessman, Santa Claus.

Press photos and evaluations of the prize-winning entries are available on ruukki.com/challenge

For more information, please contact.

Petteri Lautso, Ruukki Construction, Director, Sustainability, +358 40 568 5507,
petteri.lautso@ruukki.com

Media service
Tapani Tuominen, Ruukki Construction, +358 50 314 3131, tapani.m.tuominen@ruukki.com
MORE INFORMATION

Competition idea: The Unbelievable Challenge is an open architectural design competition open
to young architects and designers to find the best idea for a logistics centre for Santa Claus. The
competition was organized jointly by Ruukki Construction, the City of Oulu, Helsinki Design Week
and the architecture and design office Snøhetta.

Evaluation criteria: The competition seeks unique, innovative ideas and solutions for a logistics
centre for Santa Claus, who was the competition’s imaginary investor. It was his wish to find from
among the competition entries a functioning centre to meet his growing logistics needs and
increase the attraction of the area. Evaluation criteria included energy efficiency, sustainable,
values, usability, architectural values, suitability to the given surroundings and an ability to
enhance the attractiveness of the area.

First prize: “Nothing is impossible”, Alexandru Oprita, Romania and Laurentiu Constantin

Jury notes about the winning entry: The strongest element in the design is responding to the
challenge of ideas. The idea can be used in various situations. The strength of this proposal is
being able to exhibit an idea of surprise and magical character within the building itself. The magic
happens at night-time on the building’s façade and there’s a link to the investor – Mr Santa Claus.
It is feasible and innovative but not futuristic. It is also well thought through - from land use all the
way to detailing.

The entry presents an idea of making the most visible façade and the front of the building a
magical element that could both integrate the building into its surroundings and highlight whatever
aspects of the building or its functions are desired. It is realised by simple, feasible means using
both technical solutions in the exterior wall and the forest in front of the building. The idea could be
realised without sacrificing any of the practical or economic aspects of the logistics centre, and yet
it delivers a powerful effect that the jury felt would add value to many buildings and their users. It
provides understandable solutions for energy efficiency and attempts to introduce a lot of good
thinking about how to utilise this within the building. It also has a good understanding of the local
situation. The entry seeks to embrace and enhance the function of the building as a hub for new
technology in addition to the logistics centre – it connects well with Oulu as a city.

Prizes: a fully-paid 10-week internment at Snøhetta in Oslo for 1 person (value: €25,000) and a
cash prize of €1,000.

Places 2-4: (in alphabetical order)

“At the speed of dreams”, Giorgia Musacchio, Italy
“(Ice)Climbing”, Urszula Chomiak and Pawel Potemkowski, Poland
“SantaPole”, Evelina Vasiliauskaite, Lithuania
“S.M.L.XL Logistic”, Nuttapol Techopitch, Satavee Kijsanayotin, Thailand

Prizes: €1,000 for each runner-up.

Honorary mention: “Santa Claus’ Planetary Garden”, El Hadi Jazairy, Chen Lu and Kelly Koh,
United States
Jury:
Eli Synnevåg, Senior Architect MNAL, Snøhetta, Norway
Marta Sękulska-Wrońska, Architect and Partner, WXCA, Poland
Petteri Lautso, Director, Sustainability, Ruukki Construction, Finland
Kari Korkman, Founder & Director, Helsinki Design Week, Finland
Ritva Kuusisto, Architect, City of Oulu, Finland
Santa Claus, investor, Korvatunturi, Finland

The competition attracted 243 entries from 59 countries

For more information, visit:

www.ruukki.com/challenge