Luonnonmaa family centre, Naantali

The two-story new building is designed to be environmentally friendly and withstand the impacts of climate change. The total rainfall in Finland is expected to increase by 10-20 percent in the coming decades, which will increase the moisture stress on buildings.

The Luonnonmaa family centre was constructed as a monolithic structure, meaning there are no interfaces between materials in the walls where moisture could condense. The exterior wall material chosen was ceramic honeycomb block, with a brick veneer on top. The block, over 400 millimeters thick, retains heat, so no separate thermal insulation is needed during construction.

This project is unique because honeycomb blocks have rarely been used in the construction of public buildings of this size. The material is more typically used in the construction of small houses