SATO Corporation, Press Release, 14th June 2016 at 12.50 pm
Fresh perspectives on communal living generated at Safari camp
There was a lot of hustle and bustle at SATO last week when a group of young people attending the Safari camp for general upper secondary students tackled the topic of rental housing of the future. With communal living given as their theme, they got a free hand to brainstorm ideas for us.
The topic was a welcome one for this age group, which could also be seen in the outcome of their work. The students outlined designs for two different mobile apps, taking the housing needs of different personality types into consideration. The building for communal living that they came up with also includes solutions for those who prefer more privacy, so they could also enjoy the benefits and shared facilities of a communal building.
President and CEO Saku Sipola from SATO:
- Whenever you want a fresh and honest perspective on what you're doing, it's a good idea to involve young people in the process to generate ideas. The Safari campers visited us on Friday to present their ideas, and I've personally never been faced by as many questions as these young people got to answer - the discussion between SATO staff and them was wonderfully lively.
- The campers pointed out the advantages of communal housing from the viewpoints of housing shortage, loneliness and prevention of social exclusion as well as the cost of housing and ecological perspectives. Being able to influence your own housing and the communal issues of the building came up regularly in the young people's comments, and they regarded residents' own attitudes and preparedness to test their limits as one of the most important factors guaranteeing success in communal living.
- And even though it was nice to see how customer-oriented their approach was, they had also considered potential problem situations arising in communal living from the perspectives of the residents and the housing provider alike. This provides us with a great starting point for the further processing of the housing and customer services of the future.
This is not the first time SATO partners with the Safari camp organised by the Demos Helsinki think tank: in summer 2014 campers designed the SATO JuniorHome, which contributed towards the creation of the SATO StudioHome. The first SATO StudioHomes will rise in Martinlaakso, Vantaa, in 2017.
To read more about the camp (in Finnish) visit: www.safarimatka.fi
For more information please contact:
Saku Sipola, President and CEO,
phone +358 201 34 4001 or +358 40 5515 953
Monica Aro, Director, Customer Relationships and Communications,
phone +358 201 34 4006 or +358 400 458 309
www.sato.fi
SATO is one of Finland's leading rental housing providers. SATO's aim is to offer comprehensive alternatives in rental housing and an excellent customer experience. All told, SATO holds roughly 23,400 rental homes in Finland's largest growth centres and in St Petersburg.
In our operations, we promote sustainable development and initiative-taking, and work in open interaction with our stakeholders to create added value. We operate profitably and with a long-term view. We increase the value of our housing property through investments, divestments and repair work.
SATO Group's net sales in 2015 were €323.4 million, operating profit €196.5 million and profit before taxes €159.4 million. SATO's investment properties have a value of roughly €2.8 billion.