Factors impacting district heating companies’ decision to provide small house customers with heat

District heating companies’ efficiency of providing district heating to small houses in Finland and Sweden is studied. The method used is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The results indicate that Finnish companies, overall, are more efficient when offering district heat to small house customers. In Finland, price increases demand and impacts district heating company efficiency the most. The lower price level in Finland, compared to Sweden, might be a reflection of competition between different heating goods. In Sweden, network size and company size (large companies are more efficient in providing small houses with heat than small ones) drive the efficiency of small house district heating.     

Unlocking the Black Box: Analyzing Policy-Makers Narratives of Housing Policy Change in Finland

Housing policy change is typically initiated by housing policy actors. Here, housing policy change is discussed as an institutional change, with institutional constraints playing a role in the change process. At the same time, change is seen as a result of the behaviour of policy actors. The case of Finnish rental housing policy serves as an example when the process of change is analysed from the perspective of housing policy actors. The policy actors produce a narrative of exhaustion of old policy in a new political climate. At the same time, the policy actors also tell a story about how change is made through negotiations and compromises and what types of strategies they use to break institutional constraints. Furthermore, changes in the political power dynamics can help transform an idea into an agenda.     

芬兰高等建筑教育模式的启示

中国当前城市整体面貌不尽人意,建筑设计平庸而雷同,优秀建筑设计人才匮乏,这与芬兰这一北欧小国在现代建筑史上的成功形成了鲜明的对比。建筑教育制度的合理与否是形成这种差异的根本原因之一。文章从培养具有创新意识的优秀建筑设计人才的目标出发,总结了芬兰建筑师培养机制的优越性,同时将其与中国现行高等建筑教育制度进行了对比探讨,找出中国体制中的弊端并针对于中国建筑教育制度的改革和完善提出了一些建设性意见和建议。     

芬兰BIM标准与应用概述

本文系统梳理了芬兰BIM发展历程,重点调研了芬兰COBIM系列标准及InfraBIM系列标准的总体情况、基本框架及重点内容,从KIRA-digi项目、软件企业及BIM产品、高等教育人才三方面介绍了芬兰BIM应用实践情况,并通过分析芬兰BIM应用特点、我国面临BIM挑战与机遇,提出了启示及展望。     

Dependency on un-captured GDP as a source of resilience beyond economic value in countries with advanced ICT infrastructure: Similarities and disparities between Finland and Singapore

The majority of countries with advanced information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure have been experiencing extended stagnation due to an “embedded” trap in ICT advancement. However, certain countries have been able to sustain a high level of ICT- driven global competitiveness. This suggests that in these contexts there is resilience beyond economic value. Finland and Singapore can be considered countries of resilience with respect to ICT-driven global competitiveness because of their continued GDP growth despite the recession. While both countries share significant similarities including institutional strength in ICT, they demonstrate noteworthy disparities in their development trajectories: Singapore is growth-oriented based on captured GDP while Finland seeks happiness by shifting to un-captured GDP. This contrast can be attributed to their distinct co-evolution with their institutional systems characterized by government/business initiatives in ICT usage for economic efficiency and differences in the new economic index referred to as “happiness seeking”. Given the increasing significance of un-captured GDP derived from the dramatic advancement of the Internet, this paper, will use a comparative analysis of ICT-driven development trajectories in six leading countries in the field over the last two decades. This analysis reveals the different option for maintaining economic resilience. A new method for measuring un-captured GDP was developed to assess the consequences and state of un-captured GDP in six countries. Institutional sources leading to this state were analyzed and a source of resilience beyond economic value was conceptualized and articulated.     

Modeling a Hydrothermal System with Hydro- and Snow Reservoirs

This paper presents a stochastic model for analyzing the effects of variable precipitation on the Nordic power system. The model is formulated as a multistage stochastic linear program and solved by the ReSa sampling based Benders decomposition method. The stochastic parameter representing the inflow to the hydro reservoirs has been split into two in the model to describe separately the inflow from rain and snowmelt. This captures the fact that information about the snow reservoirs reduces the decision maker’s level of uncertainty about future inflow levels. Computational analysis of the Nordic power market undertaken using the model confirms the importance of modeling multiple inflow sources, with the addition of the snow reservoirs reducing the span between the highest and lowest expected future spot price.     

Finnish architectural competitions: structure,criteria and judgement process

The structure of the Finnish architectural competition system is examined to understand how a peer-review process works for the judgement and selection of the best architectural design. The evaluation of criteria in the competition process is clarified to determine how architectural issues are conceived and examined by the professional jury members. The thought processes of the architect-dominated jurors are elucidated; particularly design criteria connected with practitioners' tacit knowledge and experienced eyes. Open and direct interviews were conducted with seven architects who have direct involvement in the Finnish competition processes. They represent a wide array of practitioners' role at the board of jury, from the Finnish Architects Association (SAFA) which is officially responsible for arranging major architectural competitions to invited architect and design competitors.

La structure du système finlandais des concours d'architecture est examinée de manière à comprendre comment fonctionne un processus de contrôle par les pairs qui vise à juger et sélectionner les meilleures conceptions architecturales. L'évaluation des critères intervenant dans le processus des concours est clarifiée, afin de déterminer comment les membres de jury de professionnels conçoivent et envisagent les questions d'architecture. Les processus de réflexion des jurés, qui sont en majorité des architectes, sont expliqués; tout particulièrement les critères de conception liés aux connaissances implicites et à l'?il exercé des praticiens. Des entretiens directs et ouverts ont été menés avec sept architectes qui participent directement aux processus des concours finlandais. Ils sont largement représentatifs du rôle exercé par les praticiens au sein de la commission de jury de l'Association des Architectes Finlandais (SAFA) qui a officiellement la responsabilité d'organiser les principaux concours d'architecture auprès des architectes et concepteurs invités à concourir.

Mots clés: concours d'architecture, évaluation de la conception, qualité de la conception, évaluation par les pairs, Finlande     

空间、材料和结构--芬兰佩卡·萨米宁建筑师事务所简述

文章系统介绍了芬兰佩卡·萨宁建筑师事务所的创建过程,成员结构及设计特点,并着重介绍了拉合第歌剧院、玛丽亚音乐厅、赫尔辛基国际机场等20世纪70年代至今的多个代表性项目.     

材料、结构与空间--评佩卡·萨米宁的建筑设计

对芬兰建筑的设计传统、芬兰建筑的两大学派作了简要叙述,着重介绍了芬兰当代建筑大师佩卡·萨米宁在城市规划、建筑设计、室内设计、工程施工管理等领域所作出的卓越成就.     

Producing chopped firewood with firewood processors

The TTS Institute's research and development project studied both the productivity of new, chopped firewood processors (cross-cutting and splitting machines) suitable for professional and independent small-scale production, and the costs of the chopped firewood produced. Seven chopped firewood processors were tested in the research, six of which were sawing processors and one shearing processor. The chopping work was carried out using wood feeding racks and a wood lifter. The work was also carried out without any feeding appliances. Altogether 132.5 solid m³ of wood were chopped in the time studies.The firewood processor used had the most significant impact on chopping work productivity. In addition to the firewood processor, the stem mid-diameter, the length of the raw material, and of the firewood were also found to affect productivity. The wood feeding systems also affected productivity. If there is a feeding rack and hydraulic grapple loader available for use in chopping firewood, then it is worth using the wood feeding rack. A wood lifter is only worth using with the largest stems (over 20 cm mid-diameter) if a feeding rack cannot be used. When producing chopped firewood from small-diameter wood, i.e. with a mid-diameter less than 10 cm, the costs of chopping work were over 10 € solid m⁻³ with sawing firewood processors. The shearing firewood processor with a guillotine blade achieved a cost level of 5 € solid m⁻³ when the mid-diameter of the chopped stem was 10 cm. In addition to the raw material, the cost-efficient chopping work also requires several hundred annual operating hours with a firewood processor, which is difficult for individual firewood entrepreneurs to achieve. The operating hours of firewood processors can be increased to the required level by the joint use of the processors by a number of firewood entrepreneurs.