Academic institutions and private companies will be brought together - Sarc Architects Ltd won the architectural competition During the next few years, an entirely new kind of technology center will emerge in the heart of Jyväskylä. The technology center, to be built by Technopolis Plc in the Korkeakoski area, will become a concentration of high technology, offering unique circumstances for collaboration between the University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences and different corporate entities. The center's development took a major step forward as the related architectural competition ended with the victory of Sarc Architects Ltd, a Helsinki-based architect's office. The jury, representing the City of Jyväskylä, the University of Jyväskylä, the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA) and Technopolis, applauded the winning scheme as dynamic and aggressive in a positive sense. The jury believed that the compact cluster of buildings presented by the winner creates a definite identity for the area and the entire scheme. "The new technology center will be located on the lakeshore right in the middle of Jyväskylä. In terms of cityscape, the location is a highly demanding one. But thanks to the architectural competition, a fine solution was found", said Markku Andersson, Mayor, City of Jyväskylä. Mayor Andersson envisions that the technology center will have a key role in the future of Jyväskylä, and the city has high expectations for the center's potential. New collaboration concepts According to Jukka Akselin, Vice President, Technopolis, the new technology center will establish all new concepts for practical collaboration between education, research and corporate activity. Additionally, the center will feature common meeting places and other premises facilitating interaction between the different parties. "Our objective is to develop the center into a concentration that can give solid support to the growth and success of its clients in unprecedented ways", he states. The technology center will house, for example, the University of Jyväskylä's School of Business and Economics and Continuing Professional Development Centre, certain functions of the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences, as well as a large number of companies. Furthermore, the plan is to attract as lessees service providers that can facilitate the growth and internationalization efforts of resident companies. Erkki Tuunanen, Director of Administration, University of Jyväskylä underlines that the technology center will substantially boost Central Finland's regional innovation system. By bringing education and research closer to companies, the university's operations will have more visibility and impact. Construction of the technology center's first stage is expected to commence in 2009. The center will be available for customer use in spring 2010. Once fully completed, the size of the center will be approximately 40,000 square meters. The first stage will be 12,000-14,000 square meters. For further information, please contact Technopolis Plc Jukka Akselin, Vice President, +358 40 504 1401 In terms of the number of customer companies, Technopolis Plc is one of Europe's largest technology centers. The Technopolis Group is Finland's largest specialized provider of operating environments for high tech companies, and it offers a comprehensive service package combining modern premises and business and development services. Technopolis operates or is building technology centers in Espoo, Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta, Oulu, Tampere and Vantaa in Finland, and in St. Petersburg in Russia.