Anttinen Oiva Architects . photos: © Kalle Kouhia
The new Lagmansgården Reform School in Jakobstad, on the west coast of Finland, offers a safe and home-like environment for children and youth in need of intensive foster care and special needs education. The facility combines care, education, and rehabilitation, supporting young people in challenging life situations.
Commissioned by Senate Properties, the school was designed following a 2020 architectural competition. It includes two main functions—school and residential home-like units—alongside learning, recreation, and administrative spaces.
Set within a century-old pine forest, the building emphasizes the interaction between the surrounding nature and the interior spaces. The buildings were placed along the southern edge of the plot to preserve the most valuable part of the forest. Its single-story design, arranged around a central courtyard, enhances a sense of community, homeliness and welcoming atmosphere.
Materials were chosen for their natural quality, supporting a therapeutic environment.
Drawing inspiration from the Ostrobothnian building tradition, the simple and clear architecture with extended eaves addresses not only protection and resilience but also beauty, comfort, and usability. A calm roof form unites the various functions under one structure. The long eaves enhance indoor conditions, link interior and exterior spaces, and enable year-round outdoor activities.
A courtyard that opens toward the shoreline serves as the heart of the campus, with play areas and fitness equipment promoting movement. The school building sits on the north side of the courtyard, with key communal spaces – dining hall, library, small group rooms, and lounges – opening through large wood-glass walls onto the sunny yard. Classrooms face peaceful forest views and are designed to be flexibly combined. The residential units are located in two buildings on the southern and eastern edges of the courtyard. At the heart of each unit is a lounge and dining area that opens to forest views.
Functionality and rehabilitative principles guided the design. The school supports research and development led by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and reflects the state reform schools’ spatial concept. Lessons learned from Lagmansgården will further contribute to the concept’s ongoing development. Key values include spatial clarity, openness, supervision, and therapeutic quality. All design decisions prioritized functionality, safety, adaptability and user-centered solutions.
The buildings’ main structure is cross-laminated timber (CLT), with exposed wooden surfaces enhancing warmth and simplicity. In addition to CLT, timber- framed wall structures were used in the exterior walls of the residential units. Exterior wood-glass walls have load-bearing wooden frames, while facades reinterpret traditional batten cladding. A light-toned standing seam metal roof hides the building’s technical systems.
Sustainability was central: the school features geothermal heating, a solar power plant, and locally sourced materials. It is Senate Properties’ lowest-carbon building project to date, with a compact footprint, energy-efficient solutions, the use of wood and low construction-phase emissions. The project also emphasized local expertise in construction.
The interiors are light, flexible, and user-driven, featuring a mix of CLT and plywood surfaces with muted colors reflecting the shades of the surrounding forest and nature. Students and staff were involved in the design process, and some furniture was built by the students themselves.
_
Location: Jakobstad, Finland
Timeline: Invitational competition 2020, completion 2025
Size: 2 650 m2 (gross 3055 m2) Client: Senate Properties
User: State Reform Schools, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare Project management and supervision: Otakon, Paloff
Architect: Anttinen Oiva Architects
Interior and user design: Anttinen Oiva Architects COLLABORATORS:
Structural design, GEO: Sitowise Wood construction specialist: Alterplan
Landscape design: Nomaji Landscape Architects HVAC, Electrical and Sacurity: Sitowise
Life Cycle Planning: A-Insinöörit Rakennuttaminen Fire engineering planning: LK-Paloinsinöörit Acoustic design: AFRY
Main Contractor: Jake Rakennus Bygg Art: Camilla Vuorenmaa
