VALLILA DENSIFICATION STUDY

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Year: 2021 – 2022

Status: Commission. Completed.

Program: Urban infill plan, office spaces, densification

Client: City of Helsinki

As a part of a broader development project of Vallila area and its surroundings, City of Helsinki commissioned OPUS to conduct an urban study on the area to identify appropriate strategies for extensive infill planning within the existing urban situation. The brief was to study various placements, volumes and implementation strategies for the infill projects. One of the key parameters of the study was to contemplate the relationship of the new infill projects with the existing historic building stock. The study consisted of broader overall massing proposals and their variations for the whole area as well as a more detailed case study for an extended office building adjoining an existing one.

The proposed overall volume of the infill projects was extensive and ambitions, as per the goals of the City. Nevertheless, the character of the development achieved calmness and respect for existing situation. While the new architecture proposed clear contrast to its historic situation, it sought to utilise themes adopted from its built context. The overall character of the proposed infill strategy emphasised horizontality within the area and its skyline, with no single buildings forming obtrusive vertical dominants within the area. The proposed design emphasised the urban quality of the pedestrian areas and their experienced scale, seeking also to enrich the area with new public outdoor spaces and adding pedestrian connections to places that currently lacked those.