The green ring

SPECIAL MENTION – The Green Ring

Radostina Radulova-Stahmer (DE), architect
Deniza Horländer (DE), architect
Collaborator:
Viktoriya Yeretska (AT), architect

Jury evaluation:

The Green Ring stood out from the other submissions due to the high-quality macro-level analysis it provided. It proposes to make more use of the natural landscapes surrounding the centre of Hyvinkää, creates a green belt around the centre and links all of this with a recreation corridor that cuts right across the city. Indeed, this proposal works best when it is viewed from a whole-city perspective. In the city centre, the proposal makes excellent use of existing parks and green spaces but to the north of the city it incorporates a large railway garden bridge which is not a natural fit and feels rather forced. With regard to Finland specifically, care should be taken to carefully investigate the implications of the winter season and weather on any structural urban solutions that utilise green elements.

The proposed closed-block structures have real merit although with the exception of of the communal allotments they contain, the plans seem detached and separate from the wider context. However, the Green Ring contains many extremely successful solutions and ideas for the urban area and it conveys a vibrant city that genuinely reflects the aims set out in the competition brief. The best example of this is the pavilion-style greenhouse located adjacent to the railway track that lends itself to urban farming but can also provide a base for service providers, events and working space. The greenhouse is ideally located and is one of the finest contributions to the competition in terms of a new hybrid building that caters for a number of different functions and offers genuine potential for practical implementation. Its unusual shape is an excellent fit in a plot of land that is structurally challenging and succeeds in creating an urban space that is works well in terms of scale and with the historic station buildings. The pedestrian provision is excessive in places and barring cars from Hämeensilta would require a review of the existing traffic arrangements in the city centre. Due to traffic safety and rail operational considerations it will not be possible to expand the pedestrian zone as proposed here.

Description:

To link the separated areas of the railways we suggest to frame the fragments of Hyvinkää‘s city core with a green ring, expanding the existing green areas. Defining elements are three bridges crossing the rails: the Forest bridge, the light bridge and the square bridge. Bicycle lanes and pedestrian zones in the green ring become a part of public space in our vision. They close gaps between functions situated on the both sides of the railway. Mobility is reorganized in order to reduce and keep motorized traffic away from the centre. The third spaces in-between is defined by the new greenhouse building at the train station that integrates small scale building stock in its village-like structure and introduces productive functions to the area. The greenhouse functions as a catalysator and magnet for the transformation and further adaptation of the site.