Helsinki and Viikki Analysis

Nordic Culture

Its characterized by some aspects, the most principal ones that is a land of saunas and silence, and their connection with nature is basic for them, even described as their second home, and the country is full of large areas of forests and lakes, covering 75% of the entire country, they have a strong sense of protecting and respecting the natural resources.

Silence and personal space: They value personal space and quietness, which is appreciated in public

Traditions: The "sisu" it is a concept that refers to perseverance, resilience, and determination. 

The sauna: It is set up as a social institution, they are for relaxing, socializing and bonding with family and friends, and are commonly made from wood. 

Public space

There is a huge diverse of public spaces that cater various activities, reflecting the community sense of their culture, to create a livable and enjoyable environment, some examples of this are:

Esplanadi: Located in the heart of the city of Helsinki, this park is a popular spot for strolling, people-watching and outdoor cafes, it has a quiet section, like a forest, and a lively area with restaurants and bars. 

Senate square: The historical center of Helsinki, this square is surrounded by iconic buildings such as the Helsinki Cathedral and Government Palace, this is a popular spot for events and gatherings. 

Helsinki central library oodi: More than just a library is a vibrant public space with cafes, a movie theater, and a rooftop terrace offering panoramic city views, is popular among locals and tourists. 

Market square: Bustling with vendors selling fresh products, souvenirs, it is an icon from Finnish culture and their daily life. 

Viikkis District

Viiki is the first ecological and sustainable planned district in Finland. It is planned to have The Jokeri Light Rail, which will attract more business, developing the area into a sustainable innovation hub.

There is a very important natural and recreational area, which works as a network of Helsinkis green areas, it starts from the Vanhankaupunginlahti nature reserve, continues north through the fields of Viikki to the Kivikko outdoor park and on to Vantaa and the Sipoo wilderness.

The housing is and residential areas are planned to be directly linked to these areas too, also the University of Helsinki research facilities.

• It is important to identify the green spaces against the urban ones.
• One of Vikkis objective is to be related with the natural reserve or in general with natural elements as much as they can.
• The district is very well conected, it has a big highway in the northern part which connects with Helsinki city
• Also a light train which
• Three bus lines that create connections with the residential areas.
• There are a lot of cycling roads and pedestrian roads that helps connecting in any direction.

Conclusions

The most salient features of the Helsinki and Viiki areas are:

• In Viikki, two great systems confront each other: one urban and the other natural, namely the University of Helsinki and its projections and the nature reserve.
• It is a country and a city that seeks to be sustainable in all its economic, political, infrastructural and cultural spheres.
• The population trend indicates that the majority of the population is of working age, 30-34 years old, and immediately afterwards the next largest group is of school age, so the population increase will maintain this constant.
• The climate is very severe, especially in winter, which lasts 7 months of the year with very low temperatures, high precipitation and strong winds.
• The country has a variety of economic activities and seeks to generate an economy focused on technology. Education and research are its most important investments, which makes it a pioneer country for other countries in these areas, in addition to its main focus on sustainability.
• Helsinki as a city seeks to generate greater connections by means of trains with its neighboring districts, one of which is Viikki, which also seeks to be an important and attractive point in this mobility and social system due to its drive towards education.

This means that for our design:

• From its urban concept, we seek to make it an attractive point in relation to the infrastructure and mobility projections of Viikki, towards a sustainable approach.
• Connecting the urban and natural dynamics through the fabric of green areas that link the most important areas of the sector, with the intervention being part of them.
• Thinking about the population projection and its cultural dynamics, create spaces that respond to its dynamics of respect for the differentiation between the private and the public, that is, the individual and the social.
• Being such a severe climate with the cold, respond to it in a sustainable way and in search of maximum comfort, being one of the main rectors of the design.
• The intervention area is formed by isolated volumes, so the strategy seeks to generate a unit of them, as well as the other units found in the urban scale.
• We identified that the main materials are wood for culture and comfort, and glass for bioclimatics and landscape generation, so we seek to make them our main ones.