Our proposal for the new Espoo city centre will transform a physically fragmented city, where neighbourhoods are isolated by sporadic growth and an extensive and intrusive network of major roads, into a cohesive and more integrated centre. This is achieved through a planning strategy that employs the following principal ideas:

A revitalised and symbolic city centre with a number of new physical connections to existing public buildings and outlying neighbourhoods. These pedestrian axes, arranged in a radial pattern, act as visual corridors that lead to the major public plaza enclosed by public buildings.
Integrating mixed-use public buildings, strategically placed to activate and encourage these connections.
An urban extension to the existing parkland area that utilises the radial geometry to locate new public buildings as pavilions in the landscape. This will be achieved by relocating the existing open parking areas to a series of underground garages.

The two principal axes of the first phase break the orthogonal geometry of the existing buildings with an informal and dynamic arrangement that connects the city centre with the commercial development to the south of the railway station, linking it with a new pedestrian bridge across the highway.

The intersection of the axes to the north forms the gateway to the plaza which is marked by a new information point. Existing buildings to the west and a new sculptural landmark building to the east define the new south-facing public plaza. The massing of the new city hall, associated offices and hotel responds to the adjacent streets and paths, and the building form is fragmented to align with entrances and arcades that terminate the vistas. As part of the remodelled landscape, the plaza incorporates an area of water that converts to an ice rink in winter, an underground museum and pavilions and kiosks for public services.

The second phase further extends this radial geometry into the landscape with a series of parkland walks and cycle paths. This extended parkland is a picturesque setting for additional housing, a children’s area, a restaurant and an open amphitheatre.

The overall strategy develops a harmonious relationship between built-form and the landscape, centred on the public plaza that adapts for seasonal use. The extended network of streets and paths encourages pedestrians and bike-riders to move around the city more freely. The siting of new public buildings reinforces these physical and visual connections, whether from points of arrival, such as the railway station, or through visual connections across roads and the open landscape. It encourages mixed-use development, so that areas of the city remain active throughout the day and it provides a symbolic and recognisable series of public buildings that are open and freely accessible.

The concept for this central area enhances and revitalises the retained buildings and provides added opportunities for their reuse. The underlying principles can be successfully adapted to surrounding areas to further unify the city, without disturbing the character of individual neighbourhoods.

Name: Espoo-Plaza
Architects: Matteo Cainer Architects
Location: Espoo, Finland
Programme: City Hall and City Centre block of Espoo
Client: Municipality of Espoo
Project Size: 112,000 m2, planning 190,000 m2
MCA Principal: Matteo Cainer
MCA Team: Avigael Perez, Nina Bobinac