”The necklace team”
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A
The Greater Helsinki Vision 2050 of the ”Necklace team” In the year 2050 we envision a Greater Helsinki Region, where: • every citizen can live on walking distance from the workplace or commute using public transport • the ground level is given back to pedestrians, bicyclists and people using public transports • noisy and polluting high speed traffic will be confined to covered highways (CHW:s) • old neighborhoods are revitalized by complementing new construction and renovation of old buildings • living in close contact with the nature is possible also for people living in highrise apartments
A.1
Outline of the overall strategy To achieve the vision, shortly stated above, the strategies presented below should be
adopted as guidelines for the development of the region. We accept the top 12 development zones agreed upon by the municipalities of the region, but the focus of some of them would be affected by the principles we propose. Especially would our aim to harness or maybe even stop the urban sprawl affect the development of the municipalities that are furthest away from the center. The most significant difference seems to be the change of focus for the ring IV development. Instead of the focus on business and service areas we envision a solution, which would diminish the pressure to develop low-rise, low density living areas by offering highrise living in close contact with the nature, but offering many of the positive aspects of low-rise living. A.1.1 Stop the urban sprawl Urban sprawl is a problem that threatens the metropolitan areas all over the world. The suburban dream becomes a noisy, polluting traffic nightmare. Most families need at least two private cars for their everyday life. The emphasis on private transportation strangles the public transport system and creates ever more severe traffic congestion on all major roads. Many studies show, that urban sprawl significantly raises the use of energy per capita. Also the time spent commuting rises to unacceptable levels and the noise and pollution created by the traffic creates physical and psychological suffering. Therefore we see the most important strategy for the defense of a human metropolitan area is to stop the urban sprawl. If this aim is not reached, many other efforts to create more ecological or functional solutions will be pure cosmetics.
”The necklace team”
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A.1.2 Connect neighborhoods separated by highways One of the paradoxes of existing cities is, that the road network, which is created to unite neighborhood to neighborhood, people to people, in fact does the opposite. As it is now the highways slice the city into sectors, surrounded by noisy and dangerous barriers with limited access. As part of our vision to give back the ground level to pedestrians and other ecological means of transport, we suggest to knit together the cityscape over the existing highways, creating a dense network of shortcuts and passages, useful as much for local commuting as for leisure or relaxation. A.1.3 Reclaim areas destroyed by noise pollution At present vast areas of the metropolitan area are affected by high ambient noise levels. A certain part of this noise has sources which present technology cannot resolve, e.g. the noise in connection to the main airport, which in the foreseeable future will remain the same or get worse. The most important source of environmental noise pollution is, however, the fast traffic on the highways. As most of the noise is produced by the high speed of the vehicles through the air, changing the type of asphalt is no solution, more drastic measures are needed. As part of our vision we suggest to cover the majority of highways in the metropolitan area before the year 2050. Our preliminary estimates show, that the cost of construction of deckings over the existing highways, using the MIC principle explained on board 5, is well compensated by the raised land value in the close neighborhood and by the possibility of selling building right on the deckings. A.1.4 Locate inefficiently used areas and create incentives to increase their density As a result of the historical development of the urban structure, the city is full of areas, which are not utilized to their full potential. We envision encouraging the local land or property owners, local inhabitants groups etc. to take initiatives to locally develop the community by renovation and altering of existing buildings and additional construction of new buildings. By creating clear rules for a just division of both the economical benefits and possible negative effects of densification of the urban structure, a huge potential of creativity and initiative can be unlocked. The process of additional building in existing neighborhoods could be developed as an extension of the policy regarding use of attic space for new apartments. Thus every act of new construction in the neighborhood, leading to higher density, should be compensated both to the municipality and to the closest neighbors, thus dividing the economical benefits justly between the affected parties.
”The necklace team”
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A.1.5 Strive to create a more ecological metropolitan area In all ages the cities have tended to destroy their immediate surroundings, spreading pollution in and draining resources from the surroundings. In the present global village this effect has also grown to a global scale. (Take for example the popular methods of heating small houses using ”clean” electricity which might create polluted areas of nuclear waste disposal on the other side of the world) We envision a change of policy regarding building in the metropolitan area in the decades to come. Instead of ”normal building production” as the rule and ”ecological living” as an exception we expect te opposite; the normal way of construction and living should be ecological and sustainable in the long run. In our presentation all new buildings have ”green roofs”, the aim being to create as much planted areas as the building covers (or even more, taking into account the planted balconies, terraces etc.). The green areas have the potential to gather the rainfall and lessen the need to flush it out into the polluted Baltic sea. Also our emphasis on public transport and dense living are in accordance with ecological aims. A.1.6 Strengthen the network of green areas The Greater Helsinki region has a very green character at present. This greenness is, however, not everywhere usable for recreational purposes, as the green areas are divided by highways and smaller roads into fragments, disturbed by noise and pollution. If the urban sprawl is not stopped, the remaining rural unspoilt areas of the region will be used for building of low density housing. We envision the possibility of using the proposed new structures covering the highways not only to connect neighborhoods to neighborhoods but also to connect nature to nature. Thus wild life will get larger areas to move freely on with diminished risks of traffic accidents and at the same time an increased amount of inhabitants can live in highrise buildings in direct contact to this urban nature. We envision the possibility of creating a new ring road IV slightly further away from the regional center than shown in the competition program, thus creating a new green belt between this ring and the large areas scheduled to be built in the vicinity of ring III and the new ring railroad scheme. The green belt should incorporate the national park of Nuuksio, the green parts of Sipoo and the lake district of Kirkkonummi, south of Nuuksio. Concentrating living areas close to unspoilt nature along a strong axis of public transport on the new ring road IV, with good connection points to radial train and metro lines leading to the center, could create a popular alternative to living in suburban villa areas depending on private transport.
”The necklace team”
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A.2
Presentation of the basic principles In the detailed studies we have concentrated on presenting the potential in
densification of the existing urban structure and the potential of covering substantial parts of the highway network with deckings, on which highrise apartment and business buildings are erected. The aspect of increased ecological awareness is a guiding line which strings together the pearls forming the necklace of high quality human environment we envision as the result of this project. A.3
Argumentation for the proposals The most important features of the Greater Helsinki Vision 2050 of the ”Necklace
team” are two: Densifying the existing urban areas and covering the highways with highrise buildings. Our calculations show that the major part of the building mass projected to be needed by the year 2050 could be realized in this way. Thus could the existing rural farmland around the capital be saved for possible future use or for agricultural purposes. As stated in chapter 1 above, we accept in principle all the 12 top priority development zones of the area, but the focal point of some of theme would naturally be affected by the principles we propose. As a guiding rule all development that supports a strong network of public transport, especially rail based, should be encouraged. The most important changes regarding the 12 top zones are: 1) Part of this development is affected by the CHW over ring III, no need for big changes of development strategy of the zone 2) Creating a CHW over the western motorway raises the number of users of the metro line, thus supporting the development of the latter 3) We envision that the CHW over ring III will have a higher percentage of business area than we would strive for as the average 4) We suggest that the parts of ring road II which are not placed in tunnels would be built as CHW:s, lifting the efficiency of the zone slightly 5) The densification process of the area along the Tampere railroad will be further supported by the CHW:s over Tuusula and Lahti motorways 6) The densification of the areas close to the railway stations will be supported 7) The need for a railway connection to the Northern Espoo zone replaced by CHW 8) As large areas as possible reserved for the green belt in Sipoo, CHW along the existing motorways 9) Kerava will be directly affected by the ring road IV line, Mäntsälä is outside the main pressure and can be developed in a more rural direction outside the direct influence area of the railway station 10) We envision the new ring road IV as connecting the main hubs of light aircraft traffic i.e. the existing in Nummela and the envisioned in Pornainen
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11) We suggest the ring road IV further out and developed into a unique new urban structure with less emphasis on business and services 12) The Klaukkala railway line lies closely parallel to the CHW over the Tampere motorway. A significant part of the low/dense living areas could be placed between these two lines of public transport The essential data of our analysis is presented in the table below: 1) The potential of CHW:s
20112030
20312050
Total 2050
Length
Apartm. Business Length area area
Apartm. Business Length area area
Apartm. Business area area
[km]
[Million m2]
[Million m2]
[km]
[Million m2]
[Million m2]
[km]
[Million m2]
[Million m2]
Type 1 85
9,4
6,3
15
1,7
1,1
100
11,1
7,4
Type 2 32
3,4
2,2
38
4,0
2,7
70
7,3
4,9
Type 3 43
0,3
2,3
12
0,1
0,6
55
0,3
3,0
Type 4 10
1,8
0,2
90
15,8
1,8
100
17,6
1,9
14.8
11,0
155
21,5
6,2
325
36,3
17,2
170 2) The potential of densification Status Approx. % of total built area
quo 2 0 1 1 2030
20312050
Total 2050
Areas
Pot. growth
Realistic Pot. est. growth
Realistic Pot. est. growth
Realistic est.
GHR 2006
%
[Million m2]
[Million m2]
%
[Million m2]
[Million m2]
%
[Million m2]
[Million m2]
High density
10% 5,8
23%
1,3
0,4
4%
0,2
0,1
27%
1,6
0,5
Middle density
20% 11,6
65%
7,5
2,3
26%
3,0
1,5
91%
10,6
3,8
Middle low 40% 23,2 density
99%
23,0
6,9
41%
9,5
4,8
140%
32,5
11,6
Low density
105%
18,3
5,5
59%
10,3
5,1
164%
28,5
10,6
50,1
15,0
23,0
11,5
73,1
26,5
30% 17,4 58,0
3) The potential of diffuse growth
20112030
Low/dense living areas growing along lines of public transport + diffuse growth in the region 4) Total estimated increased amount of habitable space 5) The potential business areas in CHW:s alone
20312050 Realistic [Million est. m2]
Realistic [Million est. m2]
6,2 20112030
[Million m2]
Total 2050 Realistic [Million est. m2]
7,3 20312050
[Million m2]
13,5 Total 2050
[Million m2]
36,0
40,3
76,4
11,0
6,2
17,2
”The necklace team”
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B
Detailed studies of the main principles
B.1
Increasing the density of the existing urban areas On the boards 3 and 4 we present the basic possibilities of increasing the density of
existing areas. We find that the existing urban structure can be divided into four typologies, from high density to low density, each typology allowing different methods of creating a denser structure without total destruction and rebuilding. Our analysis shows, that until the year 2030 about 15 million m2 of complementing buildings could realistically be erected in existing areas and until the year 2050 an additional 11,5 million m2 could be accomplished, thus taking care of about 35-40 % of the growth expected within the time span of this competition. The densification of the existing urban structure is a task demanding much planning and weighing against each other the need to find space for new construction against the need to preserve areas or buildings with significant architectural or historical value. As stated above in the presentation of the strategy we see the need to create mechanisms that activate the creativity of the local inhabitants in favor of the densification process instead of activating them in support of the opposing, conserving forces. Large areas of the historical Helsinki have been built three times over, first with low wooden houses, then with 3-4 stories high stone houses and finally highrise buildings with 8-10 stories. What we suggest is, that in order to avoid a fourth phase, destroying large built areas and replacing them with even more dense areas, we should find the ways of densifying the existing structure, as schematically shown on the boards. B.2
Reclaim the land over and in direct vicinity of existing and planned highways On the boards 5-8 we present schematically functional, technical and architectural
possibilities to create new highrise areas on top of existing and planned highways. Our analysis shows, that four basic typologies can cater for most of the situations along the existing highways. Common for all the typologies is, that we suggest high or very high density areas on the CHW, in order to make the decking not only economically acceptable but outright preferable. The basic four typologies are: 1)
A narrow highrise CHW where the areas on both sides of the highway are
densely built 2)
A ”onesided” CHW where the existing highway creates a border line between
built area and nature 3)
A green CHW where the highway cuts through unbuilt areas
4)
A CHW covering most of the new ring road IV, creating a necklace of ecologically
sound living space
”The necklace team”
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We envision the CHW:s growing from existing bigger intersections or areas with a high need of new building ground. Following the principles of Minimum Impact Construction (MIC) the disturbance of the traffic is kept to a minimum. By accepting the highways as they are it is completely free to build the deckings where need or possibility arises. By predefining a master plan for the finished strips of CHW it is possible to guarantee the possibility of creating a functioning public transport network over the existing highways. Our analysis shows, that until the year 2030 about 14,8 million m2 of apartment space and about 11,0 million m2 of business space could be built on CHW:s. In the later half of the time span we estimate, that approximately 21,5 million m2 of apartment space (mainly ring IV development) and 6,2 million m2 of business space, bringing the total in 2050 up to 36,3 million m2 of apartment space and 17,2 million m2 of business space. To get an idea of the total possible development we have also estimated the amount of diffuse growth, mainly one-family housing ans smaller dense/low developments, to reach the level of 6,2 million m2 in 2030 with an additional 7,3 million m2 in the latter half, bringing the total to 13,5 million m2. Thus we estimate that our vision for the Greater Helsinki Region up until the year 2050 could create 76,4 million m2 of apartment space. Over the CHW:s we estimate that approximately 17,2 million m2 business space can be added to the amount that the existing development plans foresee. B.3
Adopt a policy of ecologically sound building The alarming results of many studies show that the earth is close to a major
climatological change with unforeseeable and frightening effects on the climate and the environment. The alarming state of the polluted Gulf of Finland and the Baltic sea is also well known and easily noticeable in the summertime. Regardless what land use principles are adopted for the future of the Greater Helsinki Region we consider it inevitable, that the new constructions must reach a previously unseen level of sophistication regarding the ecological aspects. We are not only considering the energy efficiency of the buildings but the whole lifespan of the buildings and the activities contained in them. The presentation of our vision contains consistently green roofs, terraces and winter gardens that bind carbon from the atmosphere, cleans the air and offers shadow in the summertime, lessening the need for air conditioning. We also show local ponds and small artificial lakes, created to slow down the move of the rainwater into the sea. Creating local water supplies the green areas can be irrigated during dry summers without using expensive purified drinking water. We regret that the level of detail available prohibits us from showing other recommendable features of ecological construction, such as solar energy gathering devices and local windmills etc.
