Urban Planning | Helsinki announced plans to renew the “marine national landscape” in Katajanokka

City|Town planning

Helsinki a new type of revitalization is planned for the city center. We want more nightlife and urban space for leisure activities next to Kauppatori.

The planned area, Eteläsatama, starts next to Kauppatori at the beginning of Katajanokanlaitur and continues to the intersection of Pikku Satamakatu.

Now the area wants a long park avenue, experiential city life around the clock and more office space. Puistokatu is outlined as a natural extension to the pedestrian center.

The planning principles of the eastern part of Eteläsatama will be discussed at the meeting of the Helsinki City Environment Board on Tuesday.

The goal according to the presentation, it has functional versatility and a downtown character, but housing is not allowed in the area.

Instead, there will be both indoor and outdoor spaces for year-round event use, as well as new construction, which, according to the city, must be of a particularly high standard.

There will be large glass surfaces and architecture competitions. We want services at street level, such as shops and restaurants, which open to their surroundings with the largest glass surfaces and are “public space in nature”. The formation of backyards is not allowed.

The city’s goal is to have spaces for stopping, meeting and terrace areas. The opening of closed areas into public beach areas, the continuity of the beach route, maritime services and the possibility of commercial and non-commercial stay are also presented as one principle.

In the future, people of all ages want to enjoy themselves in the area, the principles say.

To the area there would possibly be new buildings, but the principles mention the area as a “maritime national landscape” and this must be taken into account when building a new one so that the maritime silhouette is preserved.

Currently, a wooden office and hotel building is being built in the area, the estimated completion time of which is next year. A new office building called Katajanokka laituri is coming to the place of the old office and storage building.

A juniper At the same time, the pool-sea swimming pool would become a permanent part of the area. At the moment, the swimming pool is temporary, as are the nearby Ferris wheel and cinema. The leases for these expire between 2024 and 2030.

Uimala is now applying for a development reservation for a larger spa building and a year-round event venue. In the new plan, there would be a total of 5,500 floor square meters.

According to the presentation, attention should be paid to collision safety for the future sea swimming pool. The structures of Allas Sea Pool will be damaged when a cruise ship collides with the pool in January 2022.

The Katajanokan pier in front of the customs office and Pakkahuone. Photo: City of Helsinki

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“Parking and dominated by maintenance fields” Katajanokanlaitur’s street space will be changed to a park street according to the proposal. There will possibly be resident parking on the street.

Based on the plan, road access to the port area will be maintained via Ankkurikatu.

The site plan of the area allows for the establishment of an underground parking facility, but there is no information on its implementation.

According to the city, the design of streets and squares is pedestrian oriented. The main bicycle traffic network is marked on the route that runs along Katajanokanlaitur, Pikku Satamakatu, Kanavakatu and Katajanokanranta.

The beach zone, which is about half a kilometer long, currently has mostly parking space and temporary buildings built on the former harbor field and some harbor functions.