An exhibition built from Zero panels

The building façade features vertically installed wooden cladding. Coniferous trees are visible in the foreground and a cloudy sky in the background.

At the Finnish Nature Centre Haltia, located in Espoo next to Nuuksio National Park, a special exhibition GAME OVER? opened in May 2026, addressing biodiversity loss and climate change in an engaging and game-like way.

In the exhibition, the visitor is invited to challenge their perceptions as an active participant and player, not just a spectator. GAME OVER? demonstrates the real impact of our everyday choices. The exhibition was constructed using Koskisen Zero ThinPly veneer plywood and Zero Furniture Board panels in a striking and inventive way.

“Every exhibition is a statement and a tool”

Haltia’s exhibition manager, Petri Ryöppy is responsible for all the centre’s exhibitions, and there are typically ten of them over the course of a year. “Every exhibition is a statement and a tool,” says Ryöppy, who has spent 40 years working with exhibitions in various museums.

According to Ryöppy, exhibitions can influence visitors’ lives and help them see things from a new perspective. For example, in the GAME OVER? exhibition, visitors can reflect on the impact of their choices and, through a game-like experience, discover solutions that fit their daily lives. All elements of the exhibition are based on researched knowledge.

Every ninth species in Finland is threatened, and the situation is critical, but the GAME OVER? exhibition instils hope that the game is not yet over. Haltia promises that visitors will leave with at least one concrete action they can take to strengthen biodiversity. With these actions, the direction of biodiversity loss can still be reversed.

Visitors in contact with Zero products

Upon entering the exhibition space, the visitor not only experiences the exhibition but also literally comes into contact with Koskisen Zero construction panels and veneer plywood. Ryöppy’s idea was to build tall, three-sided themed pillars in the exhibition space, shaped like play buttons in line with the game theme, with sides featuring language versions in Finnish, Swedish, and English. For this purpose, he was looking for both construction panels and “very, very thin plywood.” The right material was found in Koskisen Zero Furniture Board construction panels and Zero ThinPly veneer plywood, made from domestic bio-based raw materials. The structures have not yet been surface-treated, and Ryöppy believes they will withstand wear and touch well.

“It was important that the structures of the pillars are durable and can be maintained if necessary,” says Ryöppy. The exhibition is designed to travel, so it must be easy to dismantle and reassemble. The quality of the material was a pleasant surprise during the construction phase. “These were really nice to work with,” Ryöppy praises. “It was a pleasant surprise that the panels are made from sawmill side streams,” he notes.

Koskisen’s ‘not even a chip goes to waste’ philosophy fits the nature of the exhibit. The construction panels and veneer plywood ordered for the exhibition have also been used very precisely. “Our waste percentage has been two, and even leftover pieces have been put to good use,” says Ryöppy, hinting that visitors should look up at the ceiling of the exhibition space, where familiar-looking panel-made luminaires are hanging. Of course, the frames of the play-button-shaped luminaires are made from Zero Furniture Board construction panels and Zero ThinPly veneer plywood. “We also needed lighting for the pillars, so we built those too, using leftover pieces of Zero Furniture Board panels,” Ryöppy smiles.