HELSINKI – AVIAPOLIS BLOCKS

Program: Housing + Mixed use

Total surface: 150 Ha

Budjet: NA

Client: Municipality of Vantaa

Location: Vantaa, Finland

Design: 2017

Team: Nauta architecture & research, DMP Architetti

 

The nature of world airport cities changes very much from place to place. Their relationship with the airport, their economy and demography, depend a lot on the volume of flights and international connections. Helsiki airport is in a middle position if compared with international examples. This means that Aviapolis ambition will very much be based not only on the international market but most of all on the local one and on the living and working ambitions of its inhabitants. We believe that Aviapolis should primarily be planned as a self sustainable micro-city; It should provide services and commodities for its own inhabitants, promote sustainable mobility by reducing the need of the car, therefore offering as many functions as possible. Yet, it should be resilient enough to absorb possible future flows of visitors, as the market will evolve in time. We imagine a domestic city with a strong sense of identity, projected towards futuristic scenarios of healthy sustainable living.

 

The project defines a very clear and pragmatic urban structure, focusing on the recognizability of the urban fabric. The current urban plan defines three major areas, constituted by mixed use program, services and residential. The masterplan starts from accepting this pragmatic distribution as a base to hybridize the three clusters and make them depend from each other. An healthy city provides easy access to services and commodities to everybody, reducing excessive commuting and boring monofunctionality.

 

  • EAST HOUSING DISTRICT

This district is characterized by a clear barcode structure that creates an enfilade of courtyards from south to north, crossed by small cozy residential alleys.

This structure defines a fine fabric of carefully dimensioned housing plots, which offer a huge variety of housing typologies and a rich combination of services. On the east road, the buildings’ ground floor hosts small commercial activities. The blocks offer a huge palette of collective spaces; from internal courtyards, to roof gardens, condominium farming on the roof, nursery, sauna, DIY lab, free collective fitness appliances, common laundry areas, storages and bike repair lab, common open kitchen for barbeque, and as many more the collective of residences will come up with in the future.

The mix of housing typologies includes apartments, lofts, studio flats, as well as single family houses. We believe that this mix will favor the social integration that can transform Aviapolis on the long run into a real mini city, an “interesting” city to live in. This mix contains both social types identified by the brief, social community as well as depot tribe.

On the north and the south sides of the development, two special buildings collect the parking program.

 

  • SOUTH SERVICES DISTRICT

This district is defined by a rich plinth system that, from the ground floor up, evolves into terraces and small towers. The service area hosts entrepreneurial activities, the creative industry, as well as start-ups in the fields or art, medical research and sustainable mobility. Defined by three blocks, the district presents commercial spaces, terraced restaurants and bars. The bridges host small/medium office spaces for entrepreneurs. The social character of the cluster is completed by the upper apartment blocks. The internal spaces of this cluster bustle with people at any time. The upper apartments guarantee a 24/7 frequentation of the public space.

 

  • NORTH MULTIFUNCTIONAL DISTRICT.

This area becomes the active city center of Aviapolis. A new multifunctional building bridging Rälssitie, connects the new development to the adjacent west residential district. On the ground floor the building frames a square where the tram stops in both directions. Shops and services will animate the public space. The north portion hosts a generous car park on three levels. The east and west wings host an incubator for small enterprises, as well as hair dresser, beauty salon, small clinic, dentist studios and more everyday services. The south-east corner is occupied by two housing floors with 20 studios for starters. On the upper floors the east wing hosts sport facilities and fitness, while the west side is occupied by greenhouses with urban farming facilities. On top of the roof there’s an urban market where locals can buy zero km biological products or enjoy their time in one of the restaurants and clubs with view towards the central park.

The block to the east presents a porous structure, facing Tikkurilantie with office spaces, while opening up to the park with modular residences for depot tribe and visitors. This complex will be flexible to host different future leasing configurations, from a hotel, a student house, to a traditional housing complex.

 

  • CENTRAL PARK AND ATOMI BUILDING.

The three districts described present a clear recognizable bulgy shape by reacting to the conformation of the park, the flows and the central protagonist of the composition: the Atomi building. As a trilobal shaped volume, this complex hosts a smooth distribution of functions under the same roof: daycare center, primary school, library and café in the first phase, secondary school in the second phase. The building roof is an extension of the park, maximizing the social role of the building within the park. The central courtyard is closed by gates during the day, in order to control the kids playground. After school time the gates are open to allow the collective use of the courtyard for cultural activities.