AINS Group's Matias Hirvikoski wins the New Technologies category in the EFCA Future Leaders competition
Matias Hirvikoski, 29-year-old developer of data-driven structural design at AINS Group, has won the new technology category Digital & New Technologies in the competition of the European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA). The annual Future Leaders competition recognises talented young experts who are leading the way in engineering services on an international level.
Matias Hirvikoski has contributed to, among other things, the design automation application Tower Generator and Vibmapper, which analyses vibration and structure-borne noise of rail traffic. Photo: Kai Tirkkonen
Matias Hirvikoski has been promoting the digital development of building design and new applications in Finland in domestic projects. He is known for, among other things, the Tower Generator design automation application developed by AINS Group for building conceptualisation and multi-objective optimization.
– It feels great to receive recognition for Finnish technology expertise. Good pilot projects can be found all over Europe, but the challenge is to get the new methods into large-scale use. In Finland, we have succeeded in creating products that meet the right needs and are used from one project to another, says Matias Hirvikoski, who received the award in Madrid.
Impact of rail traffic calculated for tens of thousands of houses at once
Hirvikoski participated in the competition with the globally unique vibration analysis application Vibmapper, of which he is one of the first initiators.
Specially developed for rail transport projects, Vibmapper extracts open data from various sources, models the effects of structure-borne noise and vibration on up to tens of thousands of properties and helps identify correctly dimensioned noise-reduction solutions. The application, which also has international potential, has improved quality and provided significant savings in costs and materials in several railway projects.
The greatest benefit of AI in design is scalability
Data-driven design based on algorithms and artificial intelligence will significantly increase the productivity of building and land use design.
"As much as AI-based methods save time and reduce errors, they do not necessarily represent the greatest benefit, which is scalability. We are able to calculate, analyse and create solutions on a scale that would not otherwise be possible. In the future, this may increase the value and appreciation of designers' work in society quite radically", estimates Hirvikoski.
Finland's candidates for the competition were selected by a pre-selection jury of SKOL, the Finnish association of consulting firms. Among the Finnish candidates was also Katarina Varteva, Life Cycle Specialist and Development Manager at AINS Group, who has contributed to, for example, the Finnish in-use environmental classification for buildings published by Rakennustieto.
This year, 16 candidates from seven countries participated in the EFCA final.
Further information:
Matias Hirvikoski, Technology Manager, AINS Group
tel. +358 40 687 2957
matias.hirvikoski@ains.fi
Silja Sarkamo, Communications Director
tel. +358 50 379 4767
silja.sarkamo@ains.fi
The European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA)
