Green, sheltered and safe cul-de-sacs attract families with children to move to Copenhagen, says David Sim, author of Pehmäa kaupunki. The Scottish architect believes that a similar trend could also succeed in Helsinki.
Architect David Sim sitting in a cafe at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. On the table is his new work, which has already been published in 22 different languages, before Finnish in Mongolian and Persian.
Two busy days in Helsinki, Turku and Porvoo are behind us. A tight pace of work is everyday for a Scotsman who has settled in Scandinavia. Copenhagen and Malmö became familiar when the architect was creative director of the world-famous Danish urban planning guru for twenty years Jan Gehlin in the office.
Simi’s vision of a good city life has been shaped while he traveled around different continents studying the development of cities and consulting on the planning of new areas.
“The closed block combines the best aspects of city life,” says Sim.
“It realizes soft values such as human scale, homeliness, safety and ecology. This creates an easy, smooth and comfortable everyday life.”
In Helsinki, there are old cul-de-sac blocks in South Helsinki, Töölö, Katajanokka, Kruununhaa, Kallio and Vallila. The picture shows the courtyard of a block of flats in Papinkuja in Kallio.
Block shouldn’t be too high according to Sim. Four to five is the right number of floors if you want to guarantee that there is enough daylight in the yard. The buildings should be of different sizes and preferably with gabled roofs so that penthouses can be built in them.
“The important thing is that mom and dad’s voice carries down to the yard when they call the children in to eat. It succeeds, because the traffic noise of the streets surrounding the block cannot reach the courtyard. It is also possible to open the windows and sleep with the window open.”
In front of the apartments on the ground floor, the residents can have their own small, private courtyards. In the next lane, there is the housing company’s yard with seating and clothes racks. In the middle of the block, a larger area with playground equipment and plantings will be created for everyone.
At the same time, the closed block is resource efficient, as it enables many functions to be located in the same area. According to Sim, this solves the biggest challenge in urban planning, i.e. how to combine compactness with the versatility and multi-use of construction.
Even street dust no problem, and even older residents can spend time outside. Sim explains that the gated community also has a good, protective microclimate.
“The winds don’t blow inside. According to many measurements, the temperature is several degrees higher than, for example, in the wind tunnels between high-rise buildings.”
Sim reminds that the iImaston change is predicted to bring even more strong winds and torrential rains to the Nordic countries. The stormwater problem must be taken seriously, and the yard areas must have grass that absorbs water.
David Sim urges Helsinki to focus on renovating the blocks and courtyards of the inner city.
There has been a discussion in Helsinki this autumn about the environmental effects of urban planning and construction after the city of Helsinki together with the Uusimaa liitto published a report comparing different residential areas from the perspective of land use and sustainable development.
Read more: Explanation: Small house areas destroy nature more than high-rise areas
The report states that loose construction takes up more land and deforestation can be connected to the construction of small house areas.
The report sparked a war of words because the researchers considered the report a one-sided defense of compact construction.
Read more: A war of words broke out over the densification of Helsinki: The researcher demands that officials be fired
Read more: Explanation: The problems of cities can be solved by building small houses
Sim take a stand especially on how to build if you build in an urban way.
Helsinki is a younger city than Copenhagen. That’s why there are fewer old blocks of flats here. However, there are them in South Helsinki, Töölö, Katajanokka, Kruununhaa, Kallio and Vallila.
The architect is excited to praise the Art Nouveau and Neoclassical residential blocks built between 1890 and 1930. For him, they have a human atmosphere, which arises from the carefully executed details and the towers, bay windows and porticos that emphasize the street corner. Brick-and-mortar stores and cafes enliven the streets.
“A tight but humane environment!”
Sim urges Helsinki to focus on renovating inner city blocks and courtyards.
“Just think if the city could start a green garden program like it has been done in Copenhagen and thus get green oases for backyards.”
Already in the last millennium, the city of Copenhagen began to grant rental houses and housing associations assistance and guidance for yard renovations. These, in turn, committed themselves to the maintenance of the yards after the renovation.
“The project has increased the migration of families with children to the city. The life cycle no longer includes moving to surrounding municipalities when children are young and returning to the city when the children are teenagers,” says David Sim.
CopenhagenMalmö and many other Nordic cities have also zoned many new closed blocks.
“Helsinki can also choose! There are many options to build on a plot of the same size, such as three 18-19-story tower blocks, two huge 14-story lamella buildings, a 6-7-story giant block, or four small four-story blocks. All can accommodate the same number of residents!”
Of course, many cul-de-sacs have been built in Helsinki, also for new residential areas. But also, for example, tower blocks have been in the limelight recently.
David Sim refers to Turku, which made its choice a couple of years ago. When Senaatti-kinteistöt gives up the Heikkilä training area, which belonged to the army, the city will zone this new district of Pihlajaniemi with diverse blocks of flats for 5,000 residents.
In blocks, the height of individual houses varies. On the northern corner, the blocks are higher to create a sunny courtyard. Even a few urban small houses are planned to be built in the yard. There are more brick-and-mortar shops along the street than usual, so that many kinds of services are nearby and everyday life becomes easier.
David Sim has also been planning a similar type of new city in the highlands of his homeland, Scotland. He doesn’t have time to say more about this project, because the flight to Romania leaves via Vienna.
The next publication of his work will be held in Bucharest.
Residents Silva Lehtonen and Hannu Havas are admiring the autumn atmosphere in the yard. Hannu Havas has raised his two sons in their thirties in Kallio. Student Silva Lehtonen has lived in the house on rent for four years: “During the Corona period, we often hung out and barbecued with friends in the yard.”
Many courtyards are used as parking spaces
When In 1955–57, two apartment buildings were built on Kallio’s Papinkuja, the architects responsible for the design Maija Johansson and Esko Tuompo were ahead of their time. Two maples and Japanese-style bushes were planted between the houses. Garages were built along the street to protect the yard from noise.
“It’s self-evident to me that living is not limited to the apartment, but an essential part of it is the yard, which creates a sense of community,” says a member of the board of the housing company Hannu Havas.
Havas, who grew up in Töölö, is an architect himself. He fell in love with the Japanese-style yard and bought an apartment from the housing association when his younger son was born.
I was also hooked on the extraordinary yard Elina Espoalso a member of the board.
“It is easy to live and move here. The school is nearby, and so are the grandparents. We are already fourth-generation Kallio residents.”
Hannu Havas knows the blocks of the inner city, because he spent his working career in the construction supervision of the city of Helsinki.
“Closed blocks have bottomless potential to increase the living comfort of the residents. There are good examples here and there, for example now the large blocks between Urheilukatu and Mannerheimintie.”
However, many cul-de-sac yards are full of cars and fences.
“In order to make the yards available to the residents, of course, the parking problems of the inner city must be solved. Would it be solved with new parking garages?” Havas says.
“The green yard of the enclosed block was a throw-in product. We first bought a two-bedroom apartment from the Papinkuja housing association. When Isla was small, we bought a triangle from the same house,” says Elina Espo with Seela, 3, in her arms.
#Zoning #Scottish #architectural #guru #explains #Helsinki #city #life #comfortable
