Iittala Village is a village celebrating Finnish design in Iittala, Hämeenlinna, attracting travellers from far and wide to enjoy a unique environment and art experiences.
This summer in Iittala Village, you can admire Kiertotalous Design from 1.8.2022, which also features the handiwork of Trifam. The aim of the Circular Economy Design project is to highlight Iittala’s values, where waste materials are given a new life in the form of art.
“One of the main objectives of the Iittala glass factory is to minimise the amount of cullet generated at the factory. We recycle most of the clear cullet ourselves, while the majority of the coloured cullet goes to the construction industry as raw material. The rest of the cullet is used, for example, for various works of art. In this way, all the waste glass produced at the glass factory is recycled,” says Taija Toivonen, CI Coordinator at the Iittala glass factory.
A new life for concrete anf broken glass in the form of art
Trifam’s task in this unique project was to design and realise several artworks in Iittala Village, using only waste materials such as concrete and broken glass.
“In this project, we are using crushed concrete and crushed glass to create new artworks. This is the perfect way to bring the circular economy principle to life, as we use old materials to give new life to products,” says Sami Niku-Paavo, Product Manager at Trifami 3D Oy.
Working together for a sustainable and beautiful outcome
Once again, the key to this project was effective cooperation between local businesses and the city. We at Trifam are very happy to have the honour of being involved in this project and to bring our expertise to bear on an important issue.
“The concrete pieces of Iittala Village and the shaped art station canopy are the result of cooperation between business and urban development in Hämeenlinna,” says Pia Niemikotka, Business and Urban Development Services Developer at Linnan Kehitys Oy.
Find out more about the Circular Economy Design project via this video (subtitles available in english):
We have cooperated with Häme University of Applied Sciences HAMK. In the most recent cooperation project, small groups of early-stage civil engineering students were able to develop various products using neoconcrete in their construction.
The students were given the following task:
Design a product from neoconcrete and make a moulded and 3D image of this product.
The product must be environmentally friendly and contain neoconcrete.
Make a report on what the circular economy means and what neoconcrete is.
At the end of the project, all 16 groups presented their reports and products to us. The main learning from this project was to increase our understanding of the potential uses of neoconcrete. It was also great to see that a wide variety of products can be developed from neoconcrete - only your imagination is the limit!
An experienced construction entrepreneur and innovator from the city of Hämeenlinna. The family consists of a wife, three adult children, an elder cat, and a grandchild. In addition to the family, leisure time is spent on a variety of sports, including roller skating, jogging, pilates, spinning, and open-air swimming.
Timo Sollo is an entrepreneur - the father of Trifami’s idea - whose construction companies and many projects get air under their wings, even though the general economic situation is challenging, and the industry as a whole is a bit tense. Is he a stubborn and calculating entrepreneur when he is able to clear his way further and further in his field from decades to next? Not at all, because success requires an approachable character who cares about all, as well as trust in oneself and others.
Timo believes that he has more influence as an entrepreneur than in any other role. “As an entrepreneur, I can work from the heart and be completely myself. Years and experience have provided opportunities for many things,” says Timo with a wide smile.
Goals, visions, and dreams are in the skies, and the work is done with a relaxed approach, as well as endless inspiration. Responsibility motivates Timo to always do his best: “leadership is a natural part of me. It needs to be boldly highlighted and not feared.” The company’s long story could have thousands of streams forming rivers and descending into the sea. The doors have been opened in many directions and are still being opened. It is Trifam’s vision for a new kind of construction concept that is ‘out of the box’ thinking at its best. “This concept is still a long way off, as it is sustainable for the future.”
Reetta-Maria Tolonen-Salo
Who is Reetta?
An experienced real estate and construction entrepreneur from Hämeenlinna. Leisure time is filled with association activities, exercise, relaxing at home and spending time with the family.
When Timo Sollo called to ask for help in promoting his idea, Reetta Tolonen-Salo promised to help and asked for Harri Hildén. That’s how she is - a well-known expert in the construction industry and real estate investment in Hämeenlinna, an unifier of people, an enabler of ideas and always ready to help others move forward.
Recycled concrete took Reetta’s interest quickly as it went: the help quickly expanded into a partnership when Reetta said she was doing Trifami related work excitedly to late at night. “I was looking for a start-up in the construction industry to invest in and this was such a damn good idea that I was thinking about going now!” Reetta laughs.
Reetta describes her role in Trifam as the “voice of arrangement”. She is enthusiastic about new ideas, but also slows down the pace of progress as needed, and makes sure that the project is progressing systematically and that the foundation, funding, and practices are in place before reaching out to the stars. Northern strength of mind pushes the things and liabilities to the finish line. “Open honesty and directness is important in achieving goals,” Reetta sums up.
Reetta is an entrepreneur to spirit and blood. At Trifami, Reetta is especially inspired by the opportunity to create a new one, to develop the frozen construction industry in a more ecological direction and to turn construction waste into a business.
Harri Hildén
Who is Harri?
One of Trifami’s three founding members. Extensive experience in management consulting, financing arrangements and growth companies. In his free time, he enjoys activities with family, dachshund, football (You’ll never walk alone!) And motorcycling.
When Harri Hildén heard about the idea of developing solutions for the circular economy in construction, she got excited and jumped in to start a company. The circular economy had been of interest for a long time and under the surface there was an unreleased excitement. Now a great idea had been put to the table and the team had a great guys.
Harri is a start-up and innovation expert who has been involved in many various projects during his long career as an entrepreneur and has learned to distinguish grains from chaff. As a consultant, he has been involved in setting up, developing and supporting hundreds of companies in Finland and the Nordic countries: “I have always wanted to help others move forward, that is really the most important thing for me. At the same time, I am quite a tenacious, stubborn character and I believe in hard work. There must be courage and strong will. If you don’t succeed once, you have to try again. ”
To Trifami, Harri brings his expertise, experience in business planning and development, financing, internationalization and product development. From his extensive networks, valuable experts have been selected for the Trifami’s team and strong assets have been found. “Sometimes I may have been able to point in the right direction at times, showing that a certain door should be knocked on, and possibly it will open up to something great,” Harri smiles. “All the pieces are snapped in place. The company has great courage and will to move things forward. This is going to be a big deal.”
Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world - not least because it can be used for a wide variety of uses and sizes. The popular material is made of concrete by its low cost, ability to withstand moisture, compressive strength and stiffness, and workability. In addition, concrete is a fireproof material and does not release harmful substances. As a frame material, concrete is also suitable for large structures that are in contact with water or soil. Even more often than in building construction, concrete is used in infrastructure construction such as in the manufacture of tunnels, bridges or pipelines.
Concrete is made of water, cement and aggregate, ie completely out of natural materials, which at the same time makes it a good but ecologically unsustainable product. The binder, cement is mainly made from limestone by burning, which consumes a lot of energy and also generates a considerable amount of carbon dioxide in the process. Ordinary drinking water is suitable for the production of concrete, the use of which is already problematic in itself. Aggregate is the main material of concrete and can be crushed, natural gravel or natural sand. The above-mentioned materials are available almost indefinitely, but sand, for example, has become the world’s second most sought-after natural resource. In the production of concrete, the raw materials first have to be procured up to the other side of the globe, and only then is the finished concrete mass transferred to the construction site. This movement naturally causes a lot of traffic emissions that pollute the environment.
However, from an environmental point of view, the environmental impact of concrete as a building material should be considered throughout the life cycle of the building, focusing on two aspects:
What is the energy consumption during the life cycle of the building?
How have natural resources been used and is the amount of waste minimized?
Picture: Josefiina / Trifami 3D
It is possible to recycle the concrete completely. In addition, crushed concrete, ie recycled concrete or surplus concrete, can be used as the aggregate for new concrete. In the past, crushed concrete has been used mainly for the production of concrete for civil engineering, but it is also known to be suitable for building construction. The long service life of the concrete building, good energy economy and recyclability of materials, as well as carbon sequestration, also compensates for the emissions caused by the construction phase.
At the same time as the production of virgin concrete puts an unreasonable burden on the earth, violent natural phenomena such as earthquakes and floods are constantly increasing and often the only technically sustainable solution remains concrete construction. Concrete is not as bad as its manufacturing process - it is still one of the most important building materials with a lot of good properties. From a circular economy perspective, the use of recycled products in particular plays an important role in construction: they save natural resources, reduce waste and reduce climate emissions. At the moment, the most important thing is to develop the production of concrete and concrete construction in the most sustainable and ecologically efficient way possible.
Read more about this topic:
Concrete Industry Association’s website https://betoni.com
Thesis: Utilization of crushed concrete as recycled aggregate in concrete (Nieminen, A-M., 2015) http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201512165726
Thesis: Waste or lost potential ?: reuse of concrete waste (Aaltonen, S., 2019) http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019122027737
Migration refers to the permanent movement of a population from one area to another. People have always moved - without them, the earth would not have been completely inhabited. Population moves both within states and across borders.
It is impossible to dismantle the many causes of migration, but it is simply broken down that there are factors behind migration from the region of departure and, consequently, there are tempting factors on the region of entry. Underlying idea behind migration is often the idea, that the target region has more opportunities to improve the quality of life. This is done, for example, through the workplace or studies. Social factors also have a significant impact on an individual’s migration decisions. It is often felt that there is the greatest potential for improving the quality of life in cities where the strongest migration stream has long been directed.
Picture: Pixabay
Urbanization is a globally significant phenomenon. Urbanization refers to a social process in which the population living in cities is growing. It is projected that globally, two-thirds of all people will live in cities by 2030. The degree of urbanization in Finland is estimated to be as high as 86%. Urbanization also has its downsides: in developing countries, for example, infrastructure cannot carry a migrating population, instead slums are built around the cities. In Finland, for example, urbanization is causing rural areas desertification. For individuals, urbanization causes housing traps in the housing market, which we have written about earlier in our blog. It is estimated that in 20 years there will be only three growing urban areas in Finland: Helsinki, Turku and Tampere.
Migration can also be caused, for example, by uninhabitable areas in former residential areas, which can be the result of, for example, sudden natural disasters. Such sudden changes, at worst, destroy the homes of thousands of people in an instant. In such a situation, it must be possible to produce affordable housing quickly. Trifami 3D technology would be an excellent addition to meet such demand, and in some cases the solution could even alleviate migration pressure. In any case, there will always be migration and it is important to be able to produce ecological and affordable housing in the migration areas.
For this problem too, the 3D printing of concrete is the solution for the future.
