LOCATION
Vantaa, Finland
DATE
2017-2018
SIZE
15.6 ha
TYPE
Plan Development
STATUS
Assignment completed
CLIENT
City of Vantaa
PROJECT TEAM
Patrick Verhoeven, Martin Arfalk,
Andrei Deacu, Alessandro Macaluso,
Mariada Stamouli, Giulia di Dio Balsamo, Emilia Puotinen
COLLABORATORS
MASSLAB
Where the World Meets Finland
Vision for a globally-connected and resource-efficient neighbourhood
Aviapolis is a gateway from Finland to the world. 20 million passengers will pass through the bustling Helsinki-Vantaa air-traffic hub in 2020. The airport introduces a rich cultural exchange to Aviapolis and forms a junction where local life meets global flows. There are consequences for this richness, the busy airport and air traffic place significant strain on the local environment.
Our proposal for the first development phase of Aviapolis enhances the area’s potential for hosting culture and lifestyle exchange, while addressing the environmental challenges through innovative circular and collective systems. Where the world meets Finland a new vibrant and resilient city district will rise.
As an extension of the local context, Aviapolis grows into a dense city grid. The structure breaks down the large frame plan into finer grained blocks that are human scaled and walkable. At the clash of grid directions, the existing vegetation and water are preserved and strengthened into an inviting central park structure, creating the neighbourhood’s main social space.
World
Finland
Where the World Meets Finland
1. Site today + Context grid
2. Extending the grid
3. Blue and green binding the grids
4. Atomi education catalyst
5. Shifting structure makes room for social pockets
6. Social atoms variety giving energy for life and local identity
A dense city grid
The structure breaks down the large frame plan into finer grained blocks that are human scaled and walkable.
Vibrant social pockets
A binding network of social pockets supports a variety of functions and scales.
Traditional block
Redistributed mass
Aviapolis block
Variety of social spaces
Block diversity
The Aviapolis block embraces diversity, encouraging a combination of building heights, typologies, configurations and uses.
Rälssitie boulevard and Atomi as educational catalyst
Indoor and outdoor public life that generates year round social interaction on neighbourhood scale.
Typologies toolbox
Varied inside and out
The typologies can be combined in various ways in order to optimise every block in relation to street profiles, light conditions, roofscape composition, and views.
Public space in all levels
The organisation of the public space both vertically and horizontally allows for new ways of experiencing the urban landscape and creates possibilities for new communities to emerge.
Park activities
The existing vegetation and water are preserved and strengthened into an inviting central park structure, creating the neighbourhood’s main social space.
World - Finland
Finland - Aviapolis
Aviapolis - Neighborhood
The circular economy system
By constructing a resource-efficient neighbourhood that involves local residents and is connected to the world, Aviapolis can become a flagship project for circular economy and shared systems thinking.
The shared city
The shared city of the future saves resources - spatial and energetic by sharing various functions in the urban structure and supports circular economy by building on local assets.
