Viikki

An ecological housing area of Viikki in Helsinki

Name	An Ecological Housing Area of Viikki
Place	Helsinki
Country	Finland
Topic	Residential Environments, Urban Ecology
Author(s)	Virpi Vertainen
Completion	The year of completion 2004
Client	'
Project costs	'
<googlemap version="0.9" lat="60.191377" lon="24.99939" type="satellite" zoom="10" width="300" height="250"> 60.22638, 25.01949 Viikki, Helsinki </googlemap>

Rationale: Why is this case study interesting?

Viikki is a district in the inner city area of Helsinki, near an extensive area of open farmland and wetland nature reserve of Vanhakaupunginlahti. It is situated 8 km to the Northeast of the centre of Helsinki. Viikki is a neighborhood of about 7 000 inhabitants. The population is still rising and the construction of apartment blocks for housing will continue until the year 2010. Public spaces will be completed by the year 2012.Viikki also hosts for example four faculties of the University of Helsinki. The Viikki Science Park is a centre for research, study and entrepreneurship focused on biology and biotechnology. In the middle of the Viikki district there are housing blocks, which are known as ecological housing area. The Eco-Viikki is home to some 1,800 residents. The building of the housing area of The Eco-Viikki began in the spring of 1998 and was completed in 2004.

Ecological housing area's establishment was linked with several programmes of ecologically sustainable development and experimental building among others. The main objective was to implement design and construction according to ecological building trends and gain experience for future projects. There was design competitions held to get ideas for the Master plan and to some of the ecological building blocks. During the planning and construction of Eco-Viikki exceptionally strict ecological criteria were set by the City of Helsinki as conditions for the housing construction companies.

The eco neighbourhood blocks are the result of long-term work aimed at putting ecological principles into practice. The master plan is based on a finger-like structure with alternating buildings and green open spaces. Ecological objectives have also been realised through projects related to municipal engineering and green spaces.

The Eco-Viikki project can serve as a useful example for ecologically sustainable construction projects in the future. The eco area is also a display window of Finnish know-how. There has a lot of monitoring made to evaluate the results of the ecological housing area project: the impacts of the project has been assessed through questionnaires and evaluations to see how well environmental objectives have been achieved. Also biodiversity of the area has been examined as well as the use of storm water.

Author's perspective

Focus of my case study is in ecological engineering solutions on public space and gardens for residents. Projects have involved uses for storm water, using clay to form roadbeds, landscaping of the Viikinoja Ditch and composting, allotments and collecting surface water run-off in gardens for residents.

Landscape and/or urban context

• Biogeography, cultural features, overall character, history and dynamics

Illustration: Map; sketches; short descriptive analyses

Cultural/social/political context

• Brief explanation of culture, political economy, legal framework

Illustration: Bullet points, image, background notes

History

• How did the area/project/plan at the focus of the case study evolve?

Illustration: Table or time line

Spatial analysis of area/project/plan

• What are the main structural features?
• How has it been shaped? Were there any critical decisions?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Core Questions Working Group Nature Conservation / Water

What is the role of user groups?

In the park area close to the residents there are good possibilities for playing: there is a playground and also a lot of free space to fly a kite, play football. There are also allotments available for growing vegetables on the neighboring park area. The green environment provides possibilities for recreation to all age groups. Most of the people using recreation areas are living in Viikki. Viikki area is a home especially for many young families. There might also be the user group of the people, who are studying or working in the area: the park is a place to take a break in the park having a picnic, taking a walk, jogging.

Viikki is located on the open farmland area of Viikki and close to the nature reserve of the Vanhankaupunginlahti. The closeness of the sea and nature gives values not only for the landscape but also for recreation: watching birds, fishing, canoeing etc. A good network of recreation routes exists on this larger green area. The nature reserve of Vanhakaupunginlahti invites not only the people living in the neighborhood but also the people from the whole Helsinki to visit the place and enjoy the nature values and the landscape.

The use of the public space in Viikki is mostly responsible and there are not much problems with vandalizm or littering.

Analysis of program/function

• What are the main functional characteristics?
• How have they been expressed or incorporated?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Analysis of design/planning process

• How was the area/project/plan formulated and implemented?
• Were there any important consultations/collaborations?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Analysis of use/users

• How is the area/project/plan used and by whom?
• Is the use changing? Are there any issues?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Future development directions

• How is the area/project/plan evolving?
• Are there any future goals?

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Peer reviews or critique

There is a lot of research and monitoring already made: there is a lot of material available. I also found a case study made from the architectural point of view.

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/archi/programmes/cost8/case/holistic/finland-viikki.pdf

Points of success and limitations

• What do you see as the main points of success and limitations of the area/project/plan?

Illustration: Summary table

What can be generalized from this case study?

• Are there any important theoretical insights?

Short statement plus background notes

Which research questions does it generate?

Short statement plus background notes

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References

http://www.environment.fi/default.asp?contentid=127116&lan=en

http://www.energie-cites.eu/IMG/pdf/Sustainable_Districts_ADEME1_Eco-Viikki.pdf

http://www.hel.fi/static/ksv/julkaisut/eco-viikki_en.pdf

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