ARCHIPELAGO@HELSINKI
// STATUS: competition: Länsisatamanpuisto park / PROGRAM: waterfront / residential park / PLACE: Helsinki Finland / PROMOTER: City of Helsinki / PERIOD: 2006 / CO: Ciro Najle / GDB /
Archipelago – Helsinki Länsisatamanpuisto park
The park – a 1000 x 100 m curved stripe between the regular housing blocks flowing from city to the sea. Dimension and program (from nice small scale neighbourhood courtyard with children playgrounds and kindergardens to lively urban ‘river’ with bicycle roads, different plazas and squares) demands a flexible idea, one big recognizable pattern, very generic with local variations.
The geometry derived from connections, longitudinal and transversal, laid the main framework. In between this network, triangulated, lays the Archipelago, the islands and the water, a system of land and canals. The islands vary in height, and perform both as protection from winds as viewpoints, as picnic areas, grounds for wintersports giving the diversity along the park as well as orientation. The islands of no height are playgrounds, areas for dogs, fields of grass for sport. The water varies in depth, from plain mirror of water of 5 cm on a plaza to a pond with birds. In winter it invites to iceskating and skislopes. The park looks soothingly the same but is never the same, it has overall pattern to recognize yourself with the intrigue of the local constellations of different elements. FIN
Siteplan: 1000 meters long parks sweeps down through housing area creating variations along the path
Entrance: the mix of hard surface squares, wooden decks, grassy fields, ponds and playgrounds.
Zoom: areas vary in height, flatter are for sports and games and picknicks, higher for climbing and views and shelter
Perspectives of variations: in sizes, in heights, in densities, in openness, in pace, in scale, in activities, in summer and winter
Winter: lasts 9 months, the slopes and ponds take care of it, skiing, skating, sledging. whole park serves as wind-breaker. A 365-days park.
Recognize: One kilometer of same park includes local spots of very different character while never losing touch with the whole, from busy to lazy, from rough to calm, same same. Activate and meditate.
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