Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2012 | Page 34

The new LEON city villas will comprise 44 housing units.

The Eastern Artistic Axis takes you
from Kalasatama to Arabianranta

A

rabianranta district spreads at only
a two or three kilometers’ distance
from Kalasatama. A project entitled
‘Arabia Helsinki becoming visible’ will be
launched in the WDC 2012 year. There are
several layers to be discovered in this lively city suburb. The WDC 2012 themes are
‘’Open Helsinki’’ and ‘’Embedding Design
in Life’’. Other important themes are userorientation, design, history, nature and residents.
Arabianranta city suburb is a showcase of the widespread use of architectural competitions in Helsinki to build highquality areas. All the competitions have now
been completed and the construction is under process.
There is a project, for example, where
the city villas link every unit successfully

32 Nordicum

to the magnificent waterfront landscape.
Even the entrance halls open wide views
to the surroundings. The city villas are
strongly characterised by novel balconies
clad in wood. Each villa is fitted with a communal penthouse sauna with a patio and a
view.
The construction of a new residential
area in Arabianranta begun in 2000. The
development stemmed from art and design
education and industries, and Arabianranta
came to be aptly called Art and Design City.
The core of the area is formed by the University of Art and Design Helsinki, Pop &
Jazz Conservatory, and operations including manufacturing and retail of the Finnish
design group Iittala.
The new housing area will be home
to 7,000 residents. Arabianranta is already

home to approximately 300 businesses and
4,000 jobs, two-thirds of them in the creative industries and most of them originating from two site incubators. Arabianranta is the most important hub of creative industries and creative people in the Nordic
countries.
Arabianranta’s development relies
on Helsinki’s city planning philosophy of
mixed use – combining living, working and
studying in one area, to minimise needs for
commuting. Another goal in Helsinki is to
develop areas with individual characters and
profiles. Art and design is evident in Arabianranta in many ways, not least in the high
quality of architectural design. The residential buildings represent all housing types –
owner occupied, right of occupancy, and
rental housing.