The Scandinavian Green Roof Award

The winner of the 2018 Scandinavian Green Roof of the Year Award was TA Companies Ltd (TA-yhtiöt) for the project The Greenest of the Green, located in Helsinki, Finland.

“The Greenest of the Green” is a residential complex with 121 apartments, comprising a total of 2,256 m² of green roofs and vegetated terraces.

Diversity is the key word for this surface—impressive both in size and especially in the variety of green roof types implemented. Residents can enjoy several approaches to roof and terrace greening: large-scale meadow landscapes, intensive green roofs with fruit-bearing shrubs, functional herb gardens for kitchen use, extensive green roofs with sedum-type succulent vegetation, greenhouses with exotic plants, and green façades. The project thus aims for a deeper connection with the concept of urban greening by exploring the impact of vegetated areas on the urban habitat.

The jury’s reasoning is perfectly clear

“‘The Greenest of the Green’ is a clear example of the multifunctionality and importance of urban green infrastructure—not only in the project itself but also throughout the entire building process. It goes further than any other project in its ambition to include different vegetation systems with separate functions and missions. It is an enthusiastic and courageous project that incorporates contemporary ideas of how a green building should be designed and constructed, becoming a future benchmark upon completion.”

Statement from the winners

“The project was a major challenge. We were given the opportunity to develop and test a ‘green construction’ concept from which we will gain highly valuable long-term information. We aim to be among those who bring nature into the city and to understand how vegetation affects our quality of life. Feedback from the residents shows that we are on the right path—there is real demand for these projects in dense urban centers. If municipalities take this construction approach into account in their urban plans, we are ready to continue our work. The experience gained from ‘The Greenest of the Green’ helps us find feasible and financially efficient solutions,” stated the managers of TA Companies.

Statement from the residents

“One of the themes of Finland’s 100th anniversary was ‘Finnish happiness lies in the forests.’ For us city dwellers, the suspended gardens at ‘The Greenest of the Green’ give us the opportunity to experience this joy whenever we wish. Many thanks to the designers and builders!” – a family living in the complex.

Green roofs are key elements in the development of urban areas with green qualities. One only needs to recall their positive impact on stormwater control, the mitigation of climate change effects, or the reduction of the Urban Heat Island phenomenon.

The SGIA Award (Scandinavian Green Infrastructure Association) is presented in recognition of outstanding achievements in the field of green roofs and aims to inspire and motivate owners, architects, and builders toward quality and innovation. This year, eight projects from across Scandinavia were nominated. In addition to the winner, 79 & Park (Stockholm, Sweden) received second place, and Herlev Ny Hospital (Herlev, Denmark) received third place.