The Pikku-Paavali Day Care Center
Location: Pudasjärvi, Finland
A small city of 8,000 residents in Northern Finland is a trendsetter for innovative log building. Pudasjärvi City grew tired of indoor air problems affecting the city's facilities and invested into log building. In a decade, the world's largest log school, a day care center and a dozen other large public log buildings have been constructed in Pudasjärvi.
In 2009 there was an issue in Pudasjärvi: schools and kindergartens had indoor air problems. Pudasjärvi wanted to improve indoor air and decided to build a kindergarten using log. The tradition of the log building already existed in the area, as Kontio, the largest log manufacturer in the world, is located in the city.
A brand new log kindergarten, The Pikku-Paavali day care center, opened its doors for children and staff in 2013. The day care center provides a cozy place for children to grow. The building proves that the modern log suits excellently for care environments, and its example has been widely followed.
The space of 1,300 square meters has been divided into six departments, and it offers a daily playground for a total of about 100 children.
The feedback has been very positive, tells the Director of the childcare center: “Without exception, every visitor has pointed out how the log walls seem to eliminate noise. We have large groups of children here, and still the rooms feel peaceful."
