Full Transparency Challenge - Gamified Cohousing Lappeenranta

In the last weeks both YLE Lappeenranta and Etelä-Saimaa published biased and misleading articles against me and against Gamified Cohousing.

To end all doubts, I am willing to publish all contracts, emails, and messages related to this case publicly, provided that all parties involved agree. I have nothing to hide. If the city officials, tenants, and journalists stand by their words, they should welcome this transparency.

Kanavansuu School Renovation – Gamified Cohousing Lappeenranta: Drone view

What we did so far

In 2023 we purchased the former Kanavansuu school, abandoned and looted since 2017.

Over two years we:

• Paid all bills and taxes,

• Carried out essential safety repairs and surveys:

  • new electricity panels,

  • fire alarms & extinguishers,

  • roof and window repairs,

  • storm connections,

  • cleaning of the yard,

  • façade fixes,

  • district heating updates,

  • Clearing the sewage pipes,

  • Full CAD & 3D Digitization to our App,

  • Measured air quality,

  • etc

In early 2025, three Finnish people approached us to join the project. We signed transparent contracts, which clearly stated the temporary nature of the arrangement until permits were finalized.

• Toilets, showers, washing machines and kitchens were always available (in apartment A and as a backup in the gym across the street).

• We covered all construction materials and hired professionals.

• None of the work was structural, only drywalls, electrical updates, and water pipes.

• We contacted the city

Here an early email to the city officials on this:

Kanavansuu School Renovation – Gamified Cohousing Lappeenranta: Broken heating pipes, the condition of many of the heaters when we bought the school in 2023

Kanavansuu School Renovation – Gamified Cohousing Lappeenranta: Example of the initial conditions of the school in 2023

Kanavansuu School Renovation – Gamified Cohousing Lappeenranta: ~Surveys to the Foundations

Kanavansuu School Renovation – Gamified Cohousing Lappeenranta: Replacement of all broken district heating connections. All heaters now work!

Kanavansuu School Renovation – Gamified Cohousing Lappeenranta: Replacement of electrical cables for urgent lightning storm protection. The house is much safer now!

Kanavansuu school renovation – Gamified Cohousing Lappeenranta: change of old electricity cables and panels to new ones.

Why no permit yet?

We did not submit building plans earlier because we first needed to study the building carefully and decide the best approach with minimal change, with the right people, keeping the school’s original character and sense of community intact.

The city was informed of this intention. This is the same approach we used in Lohja and Oulu, where we have had, and still have, regular meetings with city officials to define the best path forward. The best renovation is a gradual one, with care.

This is was made clear to everyone, specially the tenants, despite the falsehoods spread lately in the press, to make it clear, here is what tenants signed in to, clause 7 and clause 4:

Clause 7 of the Lappeenranta rental agreement

Clause 4 of the Lappeenranta rental agreement

So why does Lappeenranta refuse to meet with us?

What the city and press did

• The city refused repeated requests for a meeting, yet contacted tenants directly behind my back and then invited the press.

• The very next day after the first article, when we openly showed our progress, a city official entered the property without notice and ordered all work to stop, without ever contacting me, despite having all my contact details.

• YLE and Etelä-Saimaa then published negative one-sided articles (we suspect directly contacted by the city official).

  • My explanations were none or cut down.

  • City claims were amplified with no evidence.

  • Headlines framed the project as a “shock” or “unsafe,” even though we had made proven safety improvements.

These articles were released on the same day the city board was voting on the matter, clearly timed to influence the decision.

Here one of the emails sent to the city officials:

email to a city official of the city of Lappeenranta

The result

• Tenants became afraid and moved out.

• The house is once again empty, despite all our investment and care.

• Damage spread nationally: even tenants in Lohja asked if they should worry after reading YLE.

  
  

And yet, one only needs to compare our work with the other school building next door, still abandoned and deteriorating.

Who has brought more life and safety to Kanavansuu?

• Since we arrived, the area has been cleaned, heated, and repaired.

• We brought residents, community, and activity.

• We made the place safer: it is no longer an abandoned hangout for teens or junkies to drink and smoke.

Instead of being recognized for this, we are being punished.

Our track record

This distorted picture is unacceptable. Gamified Cohousing is:

• The only Finnish finalist of the 2025 New European Bauhaus Prizes,

• Organizer of the Re Renovate symposium in Oulu (supported by the Mayor of Oulu and ministers),

• Presenter at the Venice Biennale of Architecture this November.

Gamified Cohousing's re renovate symposium held in Oulu in 2025

The Full Transparency Challenge for Gamified Cohousing Lappeenranta

We have worked with transparency, paid all bills, and operated safely.

If the city and press still claim otherwise, then let’s open all records. I am ready to publish every email, contract, and message, if the other parties involved also agree.

So far, city officials have chosen instead to scare people away and misinform the public, ensuring that the building once again sits abandoned.

We have already raised our concerns with YLE privately and are now submitting a formal complaint to their ombudsman. This is not just about us, but about ensuring fair and balanced journalism in Finland. If media reporting is allowed to omit key facts and mislead the public, trust in democratic debate suffers.

Here a email sent to the city officials clearly explaining the importance of meeting and of the project:

An email sent to the city officials clearly explaining the importance of meeting and of the project

Is this truly in the best interest of Lappeenranta?

We will not stop our work. We will continue to prove that buildings can be saved with care rather than destroyed for profit. But we also demand accountability: from city officials who misled tenants, and from media who failed to check facts.

Pedro Aibéo

22.08.2025