Shopping centre valkea

The largest shopping center in Northern Finland

Valkea shopping centre was opened in Oulu in 2016. Movitek was responsible for heating, sanitation and ventilation project on the site. Movitek later also installed the heating and ventilation system in the adjacent Galleria block.

The needs of the property users and the business activities led to the choice of the energy system for the shopping center. Movitek, which supplied the hybrid energy system, was also in charge of drilling the holes for geothermal heat collection pipes.

Valkea, owned by the North Finland’s co-operative retailer Arina, has five floors and more than 25,000 square meters of retail space. The two-block complex comprises about 60 shops and restaurants. The shopping centre and the former Galleria block, as well as Citytalo and Sampotalo, are connected by the covered and year-round heated Kesäkatu, which is part of the Rotuaari pedestrian street in the centre of Oulu.

The different needs of the shopping centre’s operators were taken into account in the design of the building services. The system used at Valkea is a hybrid that utilizes both geothermal and district heating. The building services are controlled by Schneider Electric’s building automation system, which ensures that the entire property operates in an energy-efficient manner. At the same time, the business premises remain comfortable for both customers and the about 500 employees working in Valkea.

Movitek is an experienced HVAC contractor for commercial real estate, housing companies and the public sector. However, the location of the shopping centre in the middle of the busy city centre, surrounded by apartments, posed additional challenges for the actors in the construction project. Rigorous planning and precise schedules were essential to the success of Movitek’s building services project. The transport and receiving of goods were carried out most often at night. This additionally required flexibility in working hours for everyone working on the building.