In 2002, architectural firm Holma & Vuolteenaho and a few years later Zoser Arkkitehdit Oulu Oy merged with UKI Arkkitehdit Oy, and the number of employees increased to well over twenty. After the mergers, the completion of the new Oulu Town Hospital building in 2004 was the first big hospital project for UKI Arkkitehdit. Special expertise was further strengthened when the Seinäjoki Central Hospital project started in 2006.

With the technology boom, called the miracle of Oulu, plenty of new production and R&D space was built in Oulu. The most important design projects were the office buildings built in Kontinkangas for Technopolis and Nokia, as well as the NMP buildings in Oulu Technopolis for Oulun Teknologiakylä Oy. The buildings represent high-tech style. The hallmark of UKI Arkkitehdit is also evident in the Wetteri car dealer buildings of the same style in nine towns in Northern Finland.

At the beginning of the 2000s, Stora Enso Oy decided to invest in the overhaul of Langerbrugge in Belgium. UKI Arkkitehdit was chosen architectural designer for the plant to create plans for the paper mill, power plant and office premises. The pulp mill completed for Oy Metsä-Botnia Ab in 2007 in Frey Bentos, Uruguay, and the chemistry plant for Kemira Uruguay Ab were a strong proof of the firm’s increased design competence internationally.

The significant contribution of UKI Arkkitehdit in developing design methods and recognising customer needs has been vital for the birth of the user-driven VALO™ design method.

Source: UKI Arkkitehdit, Huomisen tekijät, Niskala & Okkonen, 2009