VERSTAS Architects’ City Cottage has been developed for serial production in co-operation with Finnlamelli Oy. The cottage featured in magazines including Ottagono, Monocle, Helsingin Sanomat and New York Times is now available for purchase.

More information from www.kaupunkimokki.fi

Read the article on New York Times

Kirkkojärvi School is featured in the exhibition “The Best School in the World” at the Museum of Finnish Architecture 8.6.2011 – 25.9.2011.

Throughout the past decade Finland has excelled in the OECD’s international PISA surveys of student attainment. But how and why are Finnish schools churning out top results? In its summer exhibition the Museum of Finnish Architecture explores this question from an architectural angle, based on the premise that learning is invariably influenced by the environment in which it takes place (www.mfa.fi).

The new Kirkkojärvi school was inaugurated on May 26th in a party held in the school gym. The program featured musical and dance performances by the students as well as short speeches by the headmaster and representatives from the city of Espoo, Verstas Architects and the Students’ union. Picture of small knights looking for the dragon taken from the “Dragon dance” by the children of the after-school club.

Form magazine praises Kirkkojärvi school in a review in issue 2/2011.

Unfortunately there’s a mixup with the photographer credits. The photograph of the snowy school yard was taken by Tuomas Uusheimo. Visit Tuomas’s website www.uusheimo.com for more of his photography.

Saunalahti school is under construction.

Verstas Architects’ Kaupunkimökki is featured on the renowned Italian design magazine Ottagono. The four page article can be found in the issue 235.

Verstas Architects’ entry ‘Saunaseurat’ was awarded 1st prize in an invited competition for Niipperi allotment gardens in Espoo. Around 180 allotments with small bungalows are arranged in free-form blocks lining three central common gardens with saunas.

We are proud to announce that Verstas is featured among ”Top architects – five practices you need to know” in the Monocle magazine Finland survey. The architecture & urbanism article also presents Kaupunkimökki – City Cottage by Verstas. Monocle issue 39.

Verstas Architects’ entry Noste was awarded the first prize in an invited competition for the entrance blocks of the city of Jyväskylä. The blocks of the former beverage factory on Hämeenkatu are closely connected to both the city centre and the university area on Seminaarinmäki and will house both offices and apartments.

Verstas is featured as the “Architect of the Month” on finnisharchitecture.fi, a website on finnish architecture maintained by the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Alvar Aalto Museum in collaboration with SAFA, ATL and RTS.