Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2013 | Page 23

The new Jätkäsaari district
provides striking visuals.

Total Make-Over
With focus on waterfront renaissance,
Helsinki kicks-off a true transformation

Helsinki is going full-speed into the future. Shifting the former
freight port operations away from central city sites to a new eastern
harbour in Vuosaari has opened the game for ambitious waterfront
construction. As a result, the Daughter of the Baltic has now entered
the biggest construction boom in the city’s history. Large areas are
already under redevelopment, as residential and commercial and office
construction is kicking off along the shores.

A

ccording to the City’s redevelopment strategy, the goal here is to create compact city sections. The development is carried out on the “mixed-use
principle”: jobs are mixed with many types
of housing for different income groups, to
avoid segregation along income lines and
long commutes.
Perhaps most notable impact, however, will be felt in the downtown area. Project Director Marko Härkönen says that the
appeal of the downtown is considerable as
it is, and the new projects will help take the
city to a new level: “For example, the new
Finlandia Park will offer something for everyone – it will be a great place to spend some
time and enjoy various events or just take in
the unique atmosphere.”

In addition to new construction, the
City is taking care to pump some new blood
into old downtown quarters which are full
of historic atmosphere. As early as 1810,
Johan Albrecht Ehrenström (1762–1847)
set out to draw a plan with straight, wide
streets placed on a geometric grid. The main
buildings during the early years of the capital were designed by architect Carl Ludwig
Engel (1778–1840). The result: Helsinki’s
legendary Neo-Classical city centre.

Finlandia Park Taking Shape

Hidden Pearls Downtown

Finlandia Park promises to be an “urban oasis” for residents and tourists alike – a key
part of the city’s active core. The park is
packed with cultural institutions of the highest calibre, such as the new Music Centre,
Finlandia Hall congress and concert centre,
the National Opera, the City Museum and
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art. A
new wave of office construction is completing the picture, but a strong public element
is maintained – even enforced.
“The new centre library will be realised here,” Härkönen says, adding that the
first phase of the architectural contest for
the library has already been completed and
the final winner will be declared in the summer 2013.

Over the years, the activity has moved westwards from the Senate Square and Market
Square which used to be the traditional heart
of the city. Härkönen comments that in the
process some “real pearls” may have been
overlooked.
“We are now in the process of re-energising the old quarters, bringing some life
back into these neighbourhoods.” The key
word here is “walkability”: the traditional
city quarters are very much human-scale,
allowing pedestrian adventures in a seaside
environment.
Linking with this strategy, the City organised an open international ideas competition in 2011 in order to envision how to
best develop Helsinki’s South Harbour. Over
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